Gillian Cowley

Last updated

Gillian Cowley
Personal information
Born (1955-07-08) 8 July 1955 (age 70)
Kitwe, Northern Rhodesia
Medal record
Women's Field Hockey
Representing Flag of Zimbabwe.svg  Zimbabwe
Olympic Games
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 1980 Moscow Team Competition

Gillian Margaret "Gill" Cowley (born 8 July 1955 in Kitwe, Northern Rhodesia) is a former hockey player from Zimbabwe, who was a member of the national team that won the gold medal at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. [1]

Because of the boycott of the United States and other countries, only one team was available to compete in the Women's Hockey Tournament: the hosting USSR team[ failed verification ]. A late request was sent to the government of the African nation, which quickly assembled a team less than a week before the competition started. To everyone's surprise they won, claiming Zimbabwe's only medal in the 1980 Games. The team became known as the "Golden Girls." [2]

References

  1. Nauright, John; Parrish, Charles, eds. (2012). Sports around the world : history, culture, and practice. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO. p. 121. ISBN   9781598843019. OCLC   815668821.
  2. Bulla, Fatima (12 April 2015). "#1980SoFarSoGood: So Zimbabwe, so gold!…Golden Girl relives 1980 Moscow Olympics | The Sunday Mail". www.sundaymail.co.zw. Retrieved 27 November 2017.