Great Britain hockey gold at Rio 2016 is marking its 10th anniversary after the women’s team beat the Netherlands in a penalty shootout following a 3-3 Olympic final.
Helen Richardson-Walsh and Hollie Pearne-Webb converted key penalty strikes as Great Britain completed an unbeaten campaign and secured the women’s team’s first Olympic hockey gold. The dramatic final drew an audience of about nine million viewers.
The tension surrounding the shootout reached the royal family at Balmoral as Great Britain closed out one of its landmark victories of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, told BBC Radio 5 Live that Queen Elizabeth II briefly came to watch the shootout. She said the Queen then left because she could not cope with the pressure.
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Great Britain had won all eight matches in Rio and scored 21 goals. The Netherlands entered the final as world champions and had won Olympic gold in 2008 and 2012.
Captain Kate Richardson-Walsh said the players still exchange congratulatory messages on August 19 every year. She said the squad had aimed to “create history and inspire the future.”
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The women later won bronze at the Tokyo Olympics but missed the medals at Paris 2024. England Hockey chief executive Rich Beer told BBC Sport that performance had seen “peaks and troughs.”
