Alex Danson

Last updated

Alex Danson
MBE
World Hockey League Semi Final 2013 (9170464955).jpg
Danson in 2013
Personal information
Full name Alexandra Mary Louise Danson-Bennett
Born (1985-05-21) 21 May 1985 (age 39)
Southampton, Hampshire, England
Height 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)
Weight 56 kg (123 lb)
Playing position Forward
National team
YearsTeamCapsGoals
2001–2018 England 203 (62)
2010–2018 Great Britain 103 (53)
Medal record
Women's field hockey
Representing Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  Great Britain
Olympic Games
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2016 Rio de Janeiro Team
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2012 London Team
Champions Trophy
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2012 Rosario
Representing Flag of England.svg  England
World Cup
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2010 Rosario
FIH Champions Trophy
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2010 Nottingham
European Championship
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2015 London
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2013 Boom
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2005 Dublin
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2007 Manchester
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2009 Amstelveen
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2011 Monchengladbach
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2017 Amstelveen
Commonwealth Games
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2014 Glasgow Team
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2006 Melbourne Team
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2010 Delhi Team
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2018 Gold Coast Team
Champions Challenge I
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2002 Johannesburg
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2007 Baku

Alexandra Mary Louise "Alex" Danson, MBE (born 21 May 1985) is a retired English international hockey player who played as a forward for England and Great Britain. [1] She played club hockey for Clifton Robinsons, Reading, Klein Zwitserland, Trojans and Alton.

Contents

Danson attended two independent schools, Yateley Manor Prep School and Farnborough Hill School, a Roman Catholic school for girls. Farnborough Hill School named their all-weather hockey pitch in her honour. [2] She made her full international debut on 23 October 2001 against Germany. She won a gold medal at the 2016 Olympic Games and a bronze medal at the 2012 Olympic Games. [3] [4]

Danson was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2017 New Year Honours for services to hockey. [5] Later that year Danson was announced as the England Women's Hockey Captain in June 2017 [6] and led the team through to the last four in the semi-finals of the world league. [7] Also in 2017, Danson launched the Alex Danson Hockey Academy, aimed at introducing young children to the sport through their schools to increase awareness and participation in hockey at a grassroots level. [8]

She played her last international match on 2 August 2018, against the Netherlands. It was her 306th appearance for England and Great Britain. [9] Danson announced her retirement from playing hockey on 20 February 2020. [10] [11]

Honours and awards

Honours

Representing Great Britain

Olympic Games

FIH Champions Trophy

Representing England

EuroHockey Nations Championship

Commonwealth Games

World Cup

FIH Champions Trophy

FIH Champions Challenge I

Country
Reading Hockey Club

Awards and nominations

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Australia men's national field hockey team</span>

The Australia men's national field hockey team is one of the nation's most successful top-level sporting teams. They are the only Australian team in any sport to receive medals at six straight Summer Olympic Games (1992–2012). The Kookaburras placed in the top four in every Olympics between 1980 and 2012 winning gold in 2004; in 2016, the Kookaburras placed sixth. They won the Hockey World Cup in 1986, 2010 and 2014. They won the Hockey Champions Trophy 15 times, the most by any team. They also won the Pro League and World League twice each.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Barry Middleton</span> British field hockey player

Barry John Middleton is regarded as one of the greatest British field hockey players in history. He played as a midfielder and forward for England and Great Britain and is the most capped British hockey player in history and captained his country for many years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scotland women's national field hockey team</span>

The Scotland women's national field hockey team represents Scotland in international women's field hockey competitions, with the exception of the Olympic Games when Scottish players are eligible to play for the Great Britain women's national field hockey team as selected. Scotland recently participated in the inaugural season of the FIH Hockey World League, but were knocked out in round 2, failing to qualify for the 2014 Hockey World Cup in The Hague, Netherlands. As of November 2015 they are seventeenth in the FIH outdoor world rankings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ireland men's national field hockey team</span>

The Ireland men's national field hockey team is organised by Hockey Ireland and represents both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland in international men's field hockey competitions, including the Men's Hockey World Cup and the EuroHockey Nations Championship. They have previously competed in the Men's Intercontinental Cup, the Hockey Champions Challenge, the Men's FIH Hockey World League and the FIH Hockey Series. The team also competes at the Summer Olympics, though it officially only represents the Republic of Ireland then, while still selecting players from the entire island. On 26 January 1895 Ireland played in the first ever international field hockey match when they defeated Wales 3–0 in Rhyl. Ireland were finalists and silver medallists at the 1908 Summer Olympics. Ireland were also bronze medallists at the 2015 Men's EuroHockey Nations Championship.

Colin Batch is a professional international field hockey coach and former international player from Australia. Batch was most recently the head coach of the Kookaburras until he stepped down on the 1st of September 2024. Before he was head coach of the Kookaburras, Batch coached New Zealand's men's team the Black Sticks between 2013 and 2016 and Belgium's men's team the Red Lions from 2010 to 2012. Prior to being a head coach, between 2001 and 2008 Batch was Barry Dancer's assistant coach during the most successful Kookaburras era in their history. During this era Australia broke their Olympic hoodoo winning the gold medal at the 2004 Athens Olympics as well as bronze at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Silver at the 2002 and 2006 World Cups, Gold at the 2002 and 2006 Commonwealth Games and gold at the 2005 and 2008 Champions Trophies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">East Grinstead Hockey Club</span> English field hockey team

East Grinstead Hockey Club is a professional field hockey club based in East Grinstead, West Sussex, England. It is one of the most successful clubs in the United Kingdom with National League Outdoor and Indoor honours. It was founded in 1897. The home ground is at EGSC, near Saint Hill. The club has a water-based pitch with seats for the spectators as well as a 3G Hockey/Football pitch and clubhouse. The stadium is named Saint Hill.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kate Richardson-Walsh</span> British field hockey player

Kate Louise Richardson-Walsh is an Olympic Gold and Bronze Medal winning English field hockey player. She was capped a record 375 times for her country and was the England and Great Britain Captain for 13 years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Helen Richardson-Walsh</span> English field hockey player

Helen Richardson-Walsh, is an English hockey player who plays as a midfielder. She has been a member of both the England and the Great Britain women's field hockey teams since 1999, and was a member of the Great Britain team who won gold at the 2016 Summer Olympics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ashley Jackson (field hockey)</span> English field hockey player

Ashley Steven Jackson is an English field hockey player who plays club hockey as a defender or midfielder for Old Georgians'.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joyce Sombroek</span> Dutch field hockey player

Joyce Sombroek is a former Dutch goalkeeper of the field hockey team of the Netherlands. Her international debut was on June 29, 2010 and in total she played 117 caps. With the Dutch national team Sombroek won every title you can win as a professional field hockey player. Her biggest achievements are the gold medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics, silver medal at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro and winning the 2014 Women's Hockey World Cup in The Hague. In both Olympic semi finals Sombroek played an important role by stopping multiple shoot-outs and leading her team into the finals. Sombroek also won several individual titles. The Féderation Internationale de Hockey (FIH) chose her for the international All Star team in 2010 and 2011 and Sombroek was nominated for Best Young Player of the World in 2012. On top of that she was chosen as Best Goalkeeper of the World in 2014 and 2015.

Iain Lewers is a field hockey player from Northern Ireland who represented Ireland, England and Great Britain at international level. He represented Great Britain at the 2012 and 2016 Summer Olympics. He was also a member the England teams that won bronze medals at the 2011 Men's EuroHockey Nations Championship and 2014 Commonwealth Games. He also represented England at the 2013 and 2015 Men's EuroHockey Nations Championships and at the 2014 Men's Hockey World Cup. In both 2014 and 2015 Lewers was named the England/Great Britain Player of the Year by the Hockey Writers' Club.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gonzalo Peillat</span> German field hockey player (born 1992)

Gonzalo Peillat is a field hockey player who plays as a defender for Men's Feldhockey Bundesliga club Mannheimer HC. Born in Argentina, he represents Germany at international level. He previously played for his country of birth national team. In 2015, Peillat was awarded the FIH 2014 Rising Star of the Year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Florian Fuchs</span> German field hockey player

Florian Fuchs is a German former field hockey player who played as a forward.

Arthur Georges Stanislas Henri Van Doren is a Belgian professional field hockey player who plays as a defender for Braxgata and the Belgium national team.

David Harte is an Ireland men's field hockey international. He captained Ireland at both the 2016 Summer Olympics and the 2018 Men's Hockey World Cup. He was also a member of the Ireland team that won the bronze medal at the 2015 Men's EuroHockey Nations Championship. At club level, he was a member of the SV Kampong team that won the 2015–16 Euro Hockey League. Harte has won national league titles in Ireland, the Netherlands and Malaysia and has played in the Hockey India League. In both 2015 and 2016 he was named the FIH Goalkeeper of the Year. Harte's twin brother, Conor, and his sister, Emer, are also Ireland field hockey internationals. The Harte brothers have lined out together with eight different field hockey teams – Bandon Grammar School, Cork Harlequins, Pembroke Wanderers, DCU, SCHC, Dabang Mumbai, Munster and Ireland.

John Jackson is an Ireland men's field hockey international. He was a member of the Ireland team that won the bronze medal at the 2015 Men's EuroHockey Nations Championship. He also represented Ireland at the 2016 Summer Olympics. At club level, he has played for both Loughborough Students and Reading in the Euro Hockey League. He also won the EHA Cup with Reading in 2014–15.

Eugene Magee Ireland men's field hockey international. He was a member of the Ireland team that won the bronze medal at the 2015 Men's EuroHockey Nations Championship. He also represented Ireland at the 2016 Summer Olympics and at the 2018 Men's Hockey World Cup. At club level he has won Men's Irish Hockey League, Irish Senior Cup and Kirk Cup titles with Banbridge. He has also scored for three clubs – HGC, KHC Dragons and Banbridge – in the Euro Hockey League.

Peter Caruth is an Ireland men's field hockey international. He was a member of the Ireland team that won the bronze medal at the 2015 Men's EuroHockey Nations Championship. He also represented Ireland at the 2016 Summer Olympics. At club level he has won Men's Irish Hockey League titles and the EuroHockey Club Trophy with Monkstown and the Kirk Cup with Annadale.

David Fitzgerald is an Irish hockey player. He plays for men's field hockey international. He was the reserve goalkeeper in the Ireland squad that won the bronze medal at the 2015 Men's EuroHockey Nations Championship. He was also in the squads that represented Ireland at the 2016 Summer Olympics and at the 2018 Men's Hockey World Cup. Between 2007–08 and 2016–17, Fitzgerald played in six Irish Senior Cup finals for Monkstown. He was also a member of the Monkstown team that won three successive Men's Irish Hockey League titles between 2012–13 and 2014–15. He was Goalkeeper of the Tournament when Monkstown won the 2014 EuroHockey Club Trophy.

Marco Miltkau is a German field hockey player who plays as a forward for Dutch club Klein Zwitserland and the German national team.

References

  1. ↑ "Alex Danson - GB Hockey". Archived from the original on 8 October 2020. Retrieved 21 February 2020.
  2. ↑ "Alex Danson Pitch opened". Farnborough Hill School. Retrieved 21 July 2017.
  3. ↑ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Alex Danson". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
  4. ↑ Alex Danson profile GB Hockey. Retrieved 4 June 2014.
  5. ↑ "No. 61803". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 2016. p. N17.
  6. ↑ "Alex Danson named England women's hockey captain". BBC Sport. Retrieved 21 July 2017.
  7. ↑ "Women's Hockey World League Semi-Finals: England lose to USA in semi-final". BBC Sport. Retrieved 21 July 2017.
  8. ↑ "Alex Danson: Olympic gold medallist's hockey academy targets 10,000 children". BBC Sport. Retrieved 21 July 2017.
  9. ↑ "International Hockey Federation".
  10. ↑ http://www.greatbritainhockey.co.uk/news.asp?itemid=48933&itemTitle=Alex+Danson%2DBennett+announces+her+retirement+from+hockey&section=1044&dm_i=K8Z,6QT2T,3D8XWY,QY5YS,1 [ dead link ]
  11. ↑ "Britain's Danson-Bennett retires from hockey". BBC Sport.
  12. ↑ Passing The Test Archived 6 June 2014 at the Wayback Machine Reading Hockey Club. 7 May 2012. Retrieved 3 June 2014.
  13. ↑ London Cup 2011 Archived 6 June 2014 at the Wayback Machine Field Hockey TV. 16 October 2011. Retrieved 3 June 2014.
  14. ↑ Ladies 1s off to Europe Archived 6 June 2014 at the Wayback Machine Reading Hockey Club. 16 May 2013. Retrieved 3 June 2014.
  15. ↑ Treble-tastic! Archived 20 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine Reading Hockey Club. 24 May 2013. Retrieved 3 June 2014.
  16. ↑ "Reading women promoted to EuroHockey top flight". EH. 24 February 2014. Retrieved 12 August 2015.
  17. ↑ "Watch highlights of this weekend's championships". EH. 11 April 2011. Retrieved 13 August 2016.
  18. ↑ "Reading crowned Investec Champions". EH. 21 April 2013. Retrieved 13 August 2016.
  19. ↑ "Investec Finals Weekend - Day Two". EH. 15 April 2012. Retrieved 13 August 2016.
  20. ↑ "Reading crowned Maxifuel Super Sixes Champions". EH. 27 January 2013. Retrieved 12 August 2015.
  21. ↑ "Reading crowned Maxinutrition Hockey5s Champs". EH. 2 February 2014. Retrieved 12 August 2015.
  22. ↑ "Super Sixes Finals 2011". EH. 30 January 2011. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
  23. ↑ "Leicester Ladies crowned Maxifuel Super Sixes Finals Champions". EH. 29 January 2012. Retrieved 12 August 2015.
  24. ↑ "Reading seal Slough's fate". EH. 24 March 2012. Retrieved 13 August 2016.
  25. ↑ "Bowdon take top spot from Slough in women's Premier Division". EH. 5 January 2014. Retrieved 12 August 2015.
  26. ↑ "Richardson and Danson World All Stars". EH. 23 December 2011. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
  27. ↑ Great week continues for Alex Get Record. 12 January 2012. Retrieved 22 October 2013.
  28. ↑ "Danson, Pearn are Hockey Writers' Players of the Year". EH. 19 January 2012. Retrieved 12 August 2015.
  29. 1 2 3 Double Award for Alex Danson Get Reading. 20 April 2012. Retrieved 3 June 2012.
  30. ↑ "Captains pick up Player of the Year Awards". EH. 23 January 2013. Retrieved 12 August 2015.
  31. ↑ Reading Players Honoured Archived 6 June 2014 at the Wayback Machine Reading HC. 25 January 2013. Retrieved 3 June 2014.
  32. 1 2 3 "Hockey Stars 2015 Player of the Year nominees". FIH. 8 January 2016. Retrieved 25 August 2016.
  33. 1 2 "Davis Cup's team title as athletes are on track". SJA. 17 December 2015. Retrieved 20 December 2015.
  34. ↑ "Lewers and Hinch scoop Hockey Writers' Prizes". EH. 20 January 2016. Retrieved 12 August 2015.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.