It's one of those 'you remember where you were' British Olympic moments.
Maddie Hinch became a hockey rockstar at Rio in 2016 as her shootout heroics helped Team GB win their first-ever women's hockey gold medal.
She saved all four Netherlands penalties in the shootout after a stunning display in the 3-3 draw which preceded it.
There was a unique alchemy to the group that provided Britains' first team gold in any sport for 28 years and the finest moment in a career Hinch describes as “a real rollercoaster ride.”
The 31-year-old has had to contend with her fair share of highs and lows during her career and gave a fascinating insight into them with Radzi Chinyanganya on Team GB’s Moments That Made Me podcast.
The full conversation is available on the Moments That Made Me podcast, in association with the University of Hull, and is available on iTunes, Spotify and Google Podcasts. Simply search Team GB wherever you get your podcasts from and you’ll find the Moments That Made Me podcast.
Moment One – First steps
It is easy to wonder what motivates people to want to be a hockey goalkeeper. After all, as Hinch puts it, “who chooses to stand there and get balls smashed at them for a living?”
Having joined a new school and impressed with her athleticism playing rounders, Hinch’s PE teachers identified her as someone who would be well suited to the task.
“I remember very clearly the day I was put in the pads,” she said.
“I was handed this ginormous bag – which did not smell great – and I was waddling out the changing room. I remember all my schoolmates starting to laugh at me.
“I agreed to give it a go and I haven’t looked back.”
British sport is certainly grateful for that and, fortunately, it was a role she grew to love.
“You have to learn to enjoy it because it is brutal at times, but you can change the momentum of a game in one action,” she said.
“I don’t think you can replicate that ‘big save’ moment in any other position. From the day I put the pads on it felt like a second skin to me.”
Moment Two – Junior heartache
There's no hiding place as a goalkeeper and Hinch found that to her cost when she was still finding her way in the game.
With a Junior World Cup on the horizon, Hinch had what she describes as a “shocking weekend” during a series of trial matches in Germany.
Then came the bombshell.
“I got a call from my coach saying ‘we’re not going to carry on with you or take you forward for the rest of this year’,” Hinch recalls.
“It hit me so hard and it sticks with me so much because it is the reality of what we do. Elite sport is a cut-throat world.
“I hadn’t really experienced anything like that before and it was a big wake-up call.”
Hinch began to question whether she would make it at the top level and dug deep within her steely resolve to give herself the best chance of doing just that.
“I’ve always had belief that I had something to offer and I never doubted my abilities despite what people were telling me,” she said.
“You’re too small, too short’ – I had all that. But I had this inner drive that I was meant to do this. The more I was knocked down, the stronger I got.
“Those experiences have made me the keeper I am today. If I hadn’t had those knocks, would I be here now? Probably not. It has made me far more resilient.”
Moment Three – England debut
Hinch bounced back from her early setback and began to impress playing alongside internationals at Leicester Hockey Club.
In 2008, she was invited to Bisham Abbey for national trials, where she would battle it out with five other goalkeepers.
“We were getting ready to play Germany, a team full of stars who I’d watched in Beijing,” Hinch said.
“We were in the pre-match meeting when my name came up in the starting team. I thought it must have been a typo!’”
There was no such admin error. Hinch was set for the first of 88 England caps – and she was in at the deep end.
“We were massively under the pump against Germany and I think that helped me,” she said.
“As a goalkeeper, if you get a couple of early saves in you get into the flow of the game.
“I was playing well – I saw the clips the other day and it still makes me smile. We won 3-2, I had a huge role to play and that game earned me a contract.
“I had proved to myself I could compete at this level. That was the moment I knew I belonged.”
Moment Four – Gold in Rio
Following her successful debut, Hinch had eyes on a treasured spot in the squad for a home Olympics at London 2012.
Another bump in the road followed, however, when she was overlooked – a decision she was initially hurt by but now describes as “completely the right one”.
That only increased the goalkeeper’s determination to go one better when Rio came around.
Team GB progressed through the group stages with five wins from five before seeing off Spain (3-1) and New Zealand (3-0) to set up a Gold Medal Match with Netherlands.
A 3-3 draw in normal time led to a shootout and Hinch was unbeatable, stopping all four Dutch efforts. Sophie Bray and Hollie Pearne-Webb held their nerve to convert their efforts, sealing an incredible triumph.
“That gold medal reflected so much more than that two or three weeks we were there,” Hinch said.
“It was a reflection of how much of a team we were. Were we the best hockey players there? No. Were we the best team? 100%.
“We got stronger and tighter as a unit as the game went on. Every single person on that pitch had a role to play and contributed to that final result.”
Hinch took time away from the national set-up in September 2018, returning in May the following year having rediscovered her love of the game, and is now determined to help Team GB retain their status as Olympic champions in Tokyo.
“Competing in an Olympics, even without the medals, is so special and something to never take for granted,” she said.
“Our goal is to defend our title and come home with another gold, but we have to take it one game at a time.”