Hindustan Times: Married teammates eye women’s hockey gold

RIO DE JANEIRO: Married couple Kate and Helen Richardson Walsh aim to cap their personal journey with sporting glory at the Olympics by helping Britain to a first women’s hockey gold medal.

The pair — Kate is 36 and Helen, 34 — tied the knot in 2013 and are believed to be the first married gay couple to compete at an Olympics.

Helen was instrumental in getting her team to the gold medal match against two-time champions the Netherlands by scoring one of the goals in a 3-0 semi-final win over New Zealand on Wednesday.

“It would be really special to win the gold,” said Kate. “We’ve been through ups and downs. These past four years have been some of the best and some of the worst, some of the hardest. “Helen, with two back surgeries, to come back having thought she’d never play again, to be here in an Olympic final — I think it’s just the most amazing story and I’m just so proud of her.”

Kate and Helen have been international teammates since 2000 but they have made a point of making sure their private and professional lives don’t overlap.

“We’re very professional in that we draw a line. When we’re at hockey we are Kate and Helen, hockey players and teammates,” she explained on the eve of the Games.

Kate, her country’s most capped player with over 300 matches, has certainly sweated blood and tears in her dedication to the cause. At London 2012 , she played with a metal plate in her face after having her jaw fractured.