Kate Richardson-Walsh OBE

As a result of her Olympic success, Kate was recently nominated for Sports Personality of the Year. Together with her partner and team-mate, Helen, the pair were the first same-sex couple to win Olympic Gold. Kate, also the most capped female player in her country’s history, has captained the team since 2003 and was selected to be Team GB’s flag bearer at the closing ceremony in Rio. In the process, Kate has helped to inspire a generation.

As GB captain Kate was instrumental in helping to construct the team ethos and resilience that ultimately paid off in Rio. From a disastrous low of 11th place at the World Cup in 2014, a process of self-examination and rebuilding was instigated. Alongside Head Coach Danny Kerry and a close-knit team of senior players, they put in place team values and processes to create a winning culture within the squad. Central to this was working as a team to identify the key behaviours that they had to live and breathe every single day, and creating an environment that encouraged respect and support for each other, even while they were battling for selection. ‘Be the Difference, Create History and Inspire the Future’ was their team mantra, and in winning gold in Rio she feels immense pride that they have done just that.

Kate is an expert in performance, leadership and what makes up a truly high performing team.