Helen Richardson-Walsh MBE

Helen Richardson-Walsh MBE is an Olympic medal winning hockey player, has competed at four Olympic games and was the youngest ever woman to represent GB Hockey at an Olympic Games.

In an International career spanning 17 years, Helen Richardson-Walsh MBE won three gold, three silver and 11 bronze medals. Two of these were Olympic medals, with a bronze at London 2012 and a gold in Rio 2016. Helen made Olympic history alongside her team mate and wife Kate Richardson-Walsh, as the first same sex married couple to win an Olympic medal playing for the same team.

Success has not always come easy, though, for Helen. After glory at London 2012, she went on to suffer with injuries, five rounds of surgery on her back and ankles and the warning that she may never play competitive hockey again.

Forced to spend two years out of the game she missed the World Cup in 2014 and underwent periods of depression as she started to question her self-identity, life choices and ability to achieve her goals.

However, showing significant psychological and physical strength Helen managed to return to the team and played an instrumental part of a leadership turn around at GB women’s hockey.

With 300 caps to her name, Helen stepped down from international duty and in 2017 she received an MBE for services to hockey.

Helen completed a degree in Psychology, has begun a masters and applies her knowledge as a Performance Psychologist at Tottenham Hotspur Football Club.

Contact Great British Speakers today to book international hockey player and Olympic medal winner Helen Richardson-Walsh MBE for your next event.

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After DinnerFemale SpeakersInternational Women's DayKeynoteLGBTQ+ (Pride)Mental HealthMotivationalOlympians/ParalympiansResilienceSpeakerSport

More About Helen Richardson-Walsh MBE

Helen Richardson-Walsh won her first England cap in 1999, at just 17 years of age. The following year at 18 she was a member of the GB team at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, making her the youngest female hockey player to represent Great Britain at an Olympic Games.

Helen achieved 300 international caps for England and Great Britain and, at the point of her retirement, she was the fifth most capped GB player in the history of the women’s game.

Her career highlights include an Olympic Gold at Rio 2016 and Olympic Bronze at London 2012, a European Gold medal at London 2015, World Cup Bronze medal at Rosario 2010, Champions Trophy in Nottingham 2012 and Silver at the Commonwealth Games in Manchester 2002.

Helen Richardson Walsh Olympic team GB hockey player speaker book at agent Great British Speakers

Helen Richardson-Walsh MBE | Awards and Accolades

Helen was shortlisted for the International Hockey Federation’s World Player of the Year Award in 2009.

She was named in the FIH World All Stars Team three times, in 2009, 2010 and 2011.

In 2009 and 2010, she was named as Player of the Year by the Hockey Writers’ Club

In 2009, 2011 and 2016, she received the Majorie Pollard Salver, making her the first player to receive the award three times.

In 2009, she was named as the BOA Athlete of the Year by Great Britain Hockey.

In the 2017, Helen was awarded an MBE for services to hockey. Her wife and teammate Kate received an OBE, making them the first same-sex married couple to be honoured in the same list. In the same year Helen and were awarded the National Lottery Spirit of Sport Award at the annual Sports Journalist’s Association British Sports Awards.

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Helen Richardson-Walsh MBE | Coming Back from Injury and Depression

In 2014 during her two years out of the game, Helen had to sit at home and watch as her wife played in the World Cup and witness the team finish in 11th place.

Their performance compounded the feeling that she had lost the chance to achieve a goal that she had dedicated her life to and worked hard towards for the past fifteen years. Helen experienced periods of depression and begun to question her self-identity, life choices and ability to achieve her goals.

There were days when she just didn’t want to get out of bed. She was suffering from both physical pain and depression. She cried a lot, felt helpless and struggled to sleep. She was struggling, had lost her confidence and self-esteem. That’s when she accepted that she needed to seek help.

Helen Richardson-Walsh started seeing a therapist to get external and also learned self-awareness, understanding how she could help herself. She started mindfulness, meditation and would take time out of her day to clear negative thoughts.

Showing significant psychological and physical strength Helen managed to return to the team and played an instrumental part in the turnaround of the team and the subsequent gold medal success at the following Olympics in Rio 2016.

Helen Richardson-Walsh MBE | Speaking Topics

Helen Richardson-Walsh is an experienced and confident speaker, doing keynotes speeches, Q&As and can speak on a range of themes to suit the audience:

High performance
Motivation and goal setting
Psychology and behaviours of a winning team
Leading change
Fighting back and mental wellbeing
Inspiring a generation
Diversity and inclusion

Call +44 1753 439 289 or email Great British Speakers now to book international hockey player and Team GB Olympic medal winner Helen Richardson-Walsh MBE for your corporate event.

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Testimonials

“It was a real privilege to be in the audience for Kate and Helen’s presentation. Their passion for sharing guidance on how to promote a united culture and to develop world-beating teams was palpable and infectious. The honest and open way they engaged with everyone in the auditorium, sharing both their strengths and their weaknesses, made their messages so much more powerful. It was an evening that will live long in the memory of everyone there.”
Partner RPC, on behalf of Lloyds of London

“Helen Richardson-Walsh MBE is an inspiring speaker and shares her leadership story with integrity and humour. She is intelligent and engages the audience with her honest insights into resilience and how she returned to the team following a period of serious injury. Helen’s reflections of her leadership role, working with the team to set the right behaviour is extremely inspiring and motivating.”

Connect Health Advisory

“Helen Richardson-Walsh MBE was fantastic, she was engaged with the event MC, the staff, family and children on site for the entire duration of her time with us. It was a real pleasure to meet her”
GSK

“I have asked Helen to speak on a number of occasions about her experiences as an elite athlete. Each time she has tailored her speech to suit the audience, which has included
children, parents, volunteers & PE students. She has the ability to engage her listeners instantly; she is always interesting and has a very good sense of humour. She has also been
truly inspiring- such a good positive role model for young people. I have no hesitation in recommending her as a speaker to any group in the future.”
Leicester Grammar School

“Helen was FANTASTIC! We’re really happy with how the day went, and over the moon with Helen’s involvement.”
Pladis UK

“Some people have tough periods in their life. The same with Helen. Some of the injuries, the back surgery — there is a real story here. When you dig and scratch the surface of some of these athletes, what they’ve been through and come out the other side of. They deserve everything they’ve got.”
Danny Kerry, GB Women’s Coach