Sarah Thomas (born 12 January 1981, in

Aberdare Aberdare ( ; cy, Aberdâr) is a town in the Cynon Valley area of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales, at the confluence of the Rivers Dare (Dâr) and Cynon. Aberdare has a population of 39,550 (mid-2017 estimate). Aberdare is south-west of Merthyr Tyd ...

) is a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

field hockey midfield and forward player, who was a member of the Wales and Great Britain women's field hockey team since making her GB debut in 1997. She was part of the team that won bronze at the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

Domestic career

Thomas played professionally for Dutch team HC Rotterdam for 8 seasons. She was voted the side's player of the season in 2007. She left the club in 2011 in order to return to the UK and focus on getting selected for the 2012 GB women's hockey squad.

International career

Thomas represented Wales at all age groups from the under 16s up to and including the senior national side, whom she first played for in 1997. She subsequently captained the side at the

2010 Commonwealth Games The 2010 Commonwealth Games (Hindi: 2010 राष्ट्रमण्डल खेल), officially known as the XIX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Delhi 2010, was an international multi-sport event that was held in Delhi, India, f ...

. She was also a member of the GB women's hockey teams, winning 53 caps for the side. She was a member of the squad at both the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

and the

, winning a bronze medal at the latter.

Personal life

Thomas has a degree in Exercise & Sports Sciences from the University of Exeter.

Retirement

Thomas retired from playing for Wales in 2010. She then retired from domestic hockey in 2011, and finally from all other international hockey in 2013, stating that she felt content with her career having finally won an Olympic medal.

References

*
British Olympic profile

External links

* * 1981 births Living people Welsh female field hockey players British female field hockey players Olympic field hockey players for Great Britain Field hockey players at the 2008 Summer Olympics Olympic medalists in field hockey Olympic bronze medallists for Great Britain Welsh Olympic medallists Sportspeople from Aberdare Field hockey players at the 2012 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics HC Rotterdam players {{UK-fieldhockey-bio-stub