Olympics

Hockey shot to national attention at the Seoul Olympics in 1988 when Britain's men, featuring goal machine Sean Kerley, won gold. It overshadowed the women's impressive display, when they missed out on a bronze medal by losing to Holland in the 3rd/4th place play-off.

But all that was to change four years later as the Ipswich Ladies trio of Sandie Lister, Vickey Dixon and Joanne Thompson mounted the podium in Barcelona.

Work v play

Britain's amateur Olympians always face the difficulties of mixing their day jobs with training, but things improved in the run-up to Barcelona.

Sandie Lister (b 16/8/61) was born in Halifax and was with Ipswich Hockey Club 1983-2007 while teaching PE at King Edward VI in Bury St Edmunds.

Vickey Dixon (b 5/8/59) represented Cambridge University at hockey and played for Saffron Walden before moving to Ipswich Ladies. She's combined her sporting career in Suffolk with teaching maths at Netherhall School in Cambridge.

Joanne Thompson (b 13/5/65) was goalkeeper for Slough for 10 years before moving to Ipswich. She currently works for PPG (formerly ICI) in Stowmarket.

The trio in Barcelona

Funding in the form of sponsorship enabled the players to prepare for the Olympics in 1992.

"We all had full-time jobs and normally we'd fit in our training before or after work. But what I remember for Barcelona was leaving work at Easter," said Vickey.

"It allowed me to have two to three months prior to the Games solely concentrating on the training and the hockey and that was the first time that had happened. The money paid for our employers to release us."

Bad form from the Dutch

Britain's campaign in Barcelona started badly with a 1-0 defeat to Holland, which was against recent form according to Vickey Dixon:

"Historically, the Dutch were the best hockey team and we'd just recently started to beat them quite regularly. We weren't over-confident, because we'd never be like that."

"I remember them in the coach going off and laughing and waving at us and we were feeling rubbish! They weren't very pleasant."

"Quite arrogant," remembered Joanne. However, Britain got through at the expense of the Dutch after beating South Korea 3-1 and New Zealand 3-2 in the remaining Group B games.

Barcelona identity card

"Holland were watching the New Zealand match and as we were walking off we were waving them goodbye - not laughing, just waving at them!" said Sandie.

Progression meant the women were put in the media spotlight. Joanne Thompson remembers the surprise: "As a hockey player you're not used to anyone watching you and for the semi-final you had crowds of people.

"You've got BBC Radio 5 asking for interviews when normally nobody even knows the score. We also had a psychologist who told us to be calm and not to treat it like Disneyland, don't go chasing autographs but treat it as any other hockey tournament.

"Half of you was telling you to calm down and be sensible, but the other half of you was just so excited."

Sandie Lister remembered the preparation routine: "Every afternoon when we weren't training we had to go back to our rooms and sleep. Even if you couldn't sleep, the shutters had to come down so there was no sunlight.

"And we all had relaxation tapes. It was just a routine that you had to get that physical and mental rest.

"Travelling to matches we had the same tape. We had a 45 minute drive to the matches and one tape with Whitney Houston's One Moment In Time on.

"And because it became a winning pattern, the tape had to be played before each match."

However, the winning stopped in the semi-finals with a 2-1 defeat to Germany, but in the 3rd/4th played play-off, Britain beat South Korea 4-3 after extra-time with a Jane Sixsmith winner.

A step back in Atlanta

Sandie and Vickey had been at Seoul in 1988, but Joanne Thompson was the only one of the Barcelona three to go on to the Atlanta Olympics in 1996.

"We were locked in the Olympic village and there was a bomb incident at Atlanta Park and security was really high. So we never went out of the village, but it didn't have the same atmosphere because it was really spread out. In Barcelona everyone was close together," said Joanne.

Joanne Thompson in Atlanta, 1996

"People had started getting more funding so there wasn't the passion about the game. For me it wasn't half the experience that Barcelona was."

Australia beat South Korea 3-1 in the final, while Holland beat Britain 4-3 after penalties to win the bronze.

2012 prospects

At Beijing in 2008, Britian's men and women were in fifth and sixth place respectively. Vickey Dixon said they can progress from there: "That was a stepping stone for them and we need to carry that through.

"If we have a successful Games in 2012, then again the sport will pick up."

Joanne said there's too much competition from other sports: "It's harder now. We all played hockey at school and we all got into it because that's what you did - there wasn't an alternative team sport in the winter apart from netball."

"They're competing with basketball, women's football, women's rugby - they're all becoming sports that young girls want to play," said Vickey.

"There are so few matches that are on home soil that are well-publicised, that when it gets to the Olympics the opportunity to go and watch something live will be fantastic.

Interviewed for Lap of Honour

"You can't overestimate home crowds, but I hope there are lots of opportunities for people to go and see them play before the London Olympics so that they get to know the players."

"They need to get some good competition, but competition will want to come over and play them on the pitch that they'll be playing the Olympics on," said Joanne regarding the new hockey centre which is on the main Olympic site in Stratford, east London.

"They'll get more games on that pitch than any other nation. That's a fine edge, but it'll make a difference to them."

Lap of Honour

A series of films is being made to celebrate the achievements of past and present Suffolk Olympians, Paralympians, coaches, referees and volunteers. It's managed by Suffolk Artlink on behalf of Suffolk County Council.

The hockey ladies' full 15 minute film will be part of a touring exhibition of 12 films which go out on the road in September 2009. By 2012, they hope to have 48 films which will be saved in the East Anglian Film Archive. Visit the Suffolk Artlink website for the latest news.