Great Britain made history over the Netherlands following a dramatic win in the women’s hockey final thanks to goalkeeper Maddie Hinch’s heroics in the shootout.
The 27-year-old put on a commanding performance after a 3-3 draw in regulation time, with the equaliser coming from GB’s Nicola White minutes before the final whistle.
Hinch saved all four penalties against the world number ones who had won the two golds at the previous Olympics. This win marked GB’s 58th medal in total, seven short of their tally at London 2012.
The Sussex born keeper, going by the name ‘Mad Dog’ from her teammates, says the win “does not feel real at all.”
“‘It hasn't sunk in it all. It feels like we're in a dream,” she said. “This whole tournament feels like we are going to wake up tomorrow and go do our recovery and play another game of hockey. We've had a great tournament, and we deserve this. This is what dreams are made of.”
It was not Hinch’s first rodeo against the Dutch, having previously saved their three penalties in the 2015 Euro Hockey final with England, a win that hadn’t been accomplished since 1991. Hinch was seen referencing her personal notebook before the shootout which she regularly keeps “up to date” with player data.
“Under pressure players tend to resort to what they know best, so I come up with a plan and that gives me confidence. I think that plays a mental game against them, because if I was them, I would be wondering what was in the book about me,” she said.
“We have a huge amount of data, and I can go back years and years and look at details of one player, what she has done every time. I narrowed it to one plan for each player. I am just glad I made the nation proud.”
Hinch was formidable in a game that was largely dominated by the Netherlands, having saved numerous penalty corners as well as a penalty flick in the first quarter. The game also accumulated a viewing of 9m fans in England, delaying the BBC’s Ten O’Clock news.
“My brother texted me to say, 'you’re trending on Twitter’. That’s exactly what we do this for, so people will watch the sport,” she said.
The GB keeper will be sure to receive some icy stares when she makes her move to Dutch side SCHC following the tournament.