Nicola’s delight at Olympic gold
Reporter: TONY BUGBY
Date published: 18 February 2009
NICOLA WHITE helped Great Britain under-21’s hockey team strike gold in the Australia Youth Olympic Festival.
The 21-year-old former pupil from Hulme Grammar School, admitted it was overwhelming to be part of the triumphant team in Sydney on her debut for Great Britain.
They defeated the hosts 3-2 after extra time in a final which was filled with drama and excitement.
Nicola, whose family lived in Shaw until recently, explained: “It was the closest game I have ever been involved in and, at the end, the emotion overwhelmed me.
“We were 1-0 down with not many minutes remaining and then there was a flurry of goals and it was 2-2 at the end of normal time before we eventually won after extra time.”
It was sweet revenge for Great Britain who had lost 4-2 to Australia in their pool, though that did not affect their progress through to the semi-finals.
Great Britain won four of their fives games in the competition with one of the highlights being the goal Nicola scored - her first for Great Britain - against the United States.
Nicola, who is in the third year of her BSc in sports science at Loughborough University, described it as a memorable experience as many of the facilities for the 2000 Olympic Games were used.
And it was even more special as her exploits were witnessed by four members of her family, including her parents, who made the trip to Australia.
It promises to be an exciting year for Nicola, who is in her last season at under-21 level.
She is aiming to finish on a high with a place in the England team to play in the under-21 World Cup in Boston in August.
Nicola’s next goal will be to break into the full England set-up and that could be soon as she has been invited to a senior squad training camp at Bisham Abbey.
Nicola also plays for Loughborough University in the second tier of the English National League, having previously played for Poynton in the Premier League before exhausting travel demands forced her to quit the Cheshire club.
But with Loughborough favourites for promotion, largely through the goals of Nicola, she could quickly find herself back in the Premier League next season.
