Helen Richardson-Walsh

Biography

Helen Richardson-Walsh is an Olympic gold medallist, author and trainee sport psychologist. With an international hockey career spanning 18 years, she made history aged 17 as the youngest woman to represent Great Britain in Olympic hockey, and went on to earn 293 caps, four Olympic appearances, and 19 international medals, including bronze at London 2012 and gold at Rio 2016.

Helen played a pivotal role in Great Britain’s dramatic gold-medal win in Rio, scoring in the penalty shootout final and earning recognition as one of the world’s best players. As a long-standing member of the team’s senior leadership group, she helped drive a cultural transformation that turned an underperforming squad into world champions in the space of a few years. The experience inspired a passion for the psychology of performance and team culture. With Masters degrees in both Organisational and Sport Psychology, Helen applies her academic insight and elite sport experience to help teams and individuals perform at their best. She combines evidence-based research and strategies with direct personal experience to develop tools for resilience, inclusion, high performance and personal growth.

Helen also speaks candidly about overcoming adversity, including career-threatening injuries and mental health struggles, and shares practical skills used by elite athletes to manage pressure and sustain health. As part of the first same-sex married couple to win Olympic gold on the same team, Helen also considers the importance of inclusion, inspiring and challenging audiences to build empowering cultures, perform under pressure and ultimately “win together.”