MY STORY

Alex Danson MBE is one of the finest hockey players Britain has ever produced and was credited as one of the hardest working and talented on the World Stage. 

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At Rio 2016 Alex was the vice-captain of the GB women’s hockey team that made history by winning a Gold medal, the first time a GB women’s hockey team had ever become Olympic Champions.  The Olympic final versus The Netherlands was watched live by over 9 million people on BBC TV.

 

Making her senior international debut at the age of 16 whilst still at school, Alex amassed 306 caps for her country, and scored a record equalling 115 goals over an international career spanning 18 years. 

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Shortlisted for the FIH World Player of the Year 4 times, Alex was Player of the Tournament at the 2015 European Championships, and was top scorer at both the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Olympic Games.  

 

Alex was made captain of GB and England in 2017 and led the team out for the first time against the Netherlands on home soil at the 2017 Investec International. During the same game Alex scored her 100th international goal. In 2017 Alex was awarded an MBE for services to hockey. 

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In 2018 Alex led the England team out in front of 10,000 fans at the Hockey World Cup in London. During this tournament she amassed a very rare 200 England caps and took her combined England & Great Britain tally to 300, a feat only a very small number of athletes world wide have achieved.

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After the World Cup, Alex and her husband took a holiday to Kenya where she sustained a mild traumatic brain injury. 18 torrid months later still suffering with symptoms Alex retired from International Hockey in February 2020, quoting "this is not a sad retirement, I have had the most wonderful 18 years'. Throughout her recovery Alex has been passionate about raising awareness of Brain Injuries, stating from the onset that she would take more from her head injury than it would take from her. The story of Alex's brain injury and her rehabilitation was documented by Investec and can be viewed in the video below.

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