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Kate Walsh, 27, who this year has led England to bronze medals at the Champions Challenge and the EuroHockey Nations Championships, has been announced as the 2007 Great Britain Hockey Athlete of the Year.
England's stalwart defender, who plays her club hockey for Slough, made her international debut against Russia in May 1999 and has gone on to earn 135 caps for her country and 47 caps for Great Britain. Along the way, she has scored 17 goals for
Withington born Walsh began playing hockey for Didsbury Greys at the age of 12 and has also played for Bowdon Hightown and Klein Zwitzerland.
Walsh is delighted to have been named as the 2007 Great Britain Hockey Athlete of the Year and commented ÔÇ£I am thrilled with this award and must thank everyone who has helped me during my hockey career. After the disappointment of 2004 it has been a long road and mentally tough at times but the team have really pulled together and I hope now we can keep making strides forward. I am honoured to receive this award, but I would trade every medal and personal trophy in for a chance to win Olympic Gold. I hope that over the next two Olympic cycles we can rise to the occasion. ÔÇ£
Women's Head Coach Danny Kerry, said: ÔÇ£There is quite a poignant photo of Kate on her knees in tears at the end of the Auckland Olympic Qualifying tournament in March 2004 at which GB failed to qualify for
This is the second Hockey Athlete of the Year Award. In 2006, the British Olympic Association presented a trophy to each of the 35 Olympic Governing Bodies for them to award on an annual basis to their top Olympic Athlete. The Awards were introduced to mark the BOA's Centenary Year and the awarding of the 2012 Olympic Games to
Source: Great Britain Hockey ltd.