An Olympic champion at 26, Sophie Bray lays down her hockey stick to talk to William Gadsby Peet about her team’s triumph in Rio, celebrating at 35,000 ft and still getting asked for ID
Sophie Bray is an intimidating individual to interview. At the tender age of 26 she’s already an Olympic gold medallist, has a degree in psychology from Brighton University (she’s also in the process of taking a masters) and she currently lives in Holland – playing for SV Kampong in midfield whilst juggling a job in IT and business consultancy, not to mention her Team GB commitments.
To put all of that in perspective, I’m just six months younger than Sophie and the highlight of my past week was the invention of a toastie that uses four different types of cheese...
I meet Sophie, who grew up in Claygate, at her favourite cafe in Cobham and, as we chat, I am surprised to learn that for this high-flying hockey player, it was the racquet and not the stick that was her first love.
“When I was growing up, playing tennis for Surrey came first and after that it was football and hockey until I was 16, but then one had to take a backseat and it was between those last two,” explains Sophie, who was then at Tiffin Girls’ School in Kingston.
“I still remember it being an incredibly hard decision, but my dream was to play for my country and I thought that hockey would be a better route in terms of my potential.”
When I voice my disbelief that at 16 she was thinking about representing her country, I am met with an uncomprehending and unhesitant “Yes, absolutely”.
Having scored twice in the group games in Rio and set up countless chances for her teammates – including a tap in for their first goal in the final – the entire nation can certainly breath a collective sigh of relief that it was hockey, not tennis or football, upon which Sophie ‘BFA’ Bray chose to focus.
The BFA stands for baby-faced assassin by the way, a nickname given to Sophie by some of her older teammates when she was 16 and playing U21 hockey.
“They related me to the Manchester United footballer, Ole Gunnar Solsjkaer, who had the same nickname,” she says, adding, “I’m 26, but a few months before the Olympics I actually got ID’d trying to pay for petrol!”
According to Sophie, it was not only skill that brought Team GB their huge medal tally in Rio but a spirit of camaraderie.
“I have clear memories of when Adam Peaty won our first gold. We were all huddled around in the flat screaming at the TV and that was the moment where we all thought, ‘Right, we’ve got it started.’
“The excitement built when we got to second in the medal table and I thought ‘When are the Chinese going to overtake us?’ Then it got to the point where we realized they weren’t going to and we all thought, ‘Can we get more medals than we did in London?’ And we even beat that milestone. It was incredible and I’m just so, so proud to be part of Team GB.”
While a robust team spirit is certainly vital for Olympic success, athletes are a funny bunch and Sophie admits that superstition crept into her pre-match routine.
“We’d played our first game and won against Australia. The washing system in Rio was a bit complicated and a couple of athletes lost their kit so I decided I’d handwash my top, but then I never got round to it before the next game, and we won again.
We’re very much a team that keeps everything the same for luck: same places on the bus, same places in the changing room etc. So I decided I wouldn’t wash my top again until we lost and we never did. Six games and I never washed my top!”
Sophie’s top local picks:
- Café: Bronte’s café in Cobham is a favorite of mine, and also Il Forno in Hinchley Wood; they do an amazing Coronation chicken roll.
- Pub: Definitely my local: the Hare and Hound, which has a really lovely atmosphere.
- Shop: RTfact Flowers in Claygate put together some stunning displays.
Well if it works, it works and whether it was grubby kit or years of hard graft that won the day, we’ll never know. The fact remains, Sophie and her teammates triumphed and they couldn’t be happier.
“It’s almost impossible to put into words and I still can’t,” she says. “I look back to that moment and just remember sprinting over to Hollie [Webb] thinking ‘Oh my word this has actually happened, no one can take this away from us. We are all Olympic champions and will be for the rest of our lives.’”
“The rest was a bit of a blur, just pure joy and happiness. Girls like Kate and Helen [Richardson-Walsh] have given so much to the sport for so many years, and to be part of their journey and see them win gold as well made it even more special.”
The achievements of our Olympians certainly deserve celebration, and the British Olympic Association pulled out all the stops for the official Team GB party.
“On the Saturday evening we went to British House, which is this beautiful building under Christ the Redeemer,” says Sophie, “There were red, white and blue lights everywhere and LED lights of the British flag on the steps as we entered. They had put a glass dance floor over the swimming pool that turned gold when we arrived. They had a Ministry of Sound DJ playing and it was literally the best night ever, everyone was on such great form.”
Koen Suyk
The fun didn’t stop there for the athletes, with a carnival atmosphere on the 'victoRIOus’ flight home.
“It’s definitely the coolest flight I’ve ever been on,” Sophie recalls. “The gold medallists were in first class and because there were so many there wasn’t space for all of us, so we ended up with 19 seats in business. It actually worked out better as we were right in the middle of things and the other athletes could be part of the excitement.”
“When we all heard the national anthem obviously our reaction was to stand up and sing it loud and proud. We haven’t got the best voices collectively but we certainly gave it a good old sing!
“When the plane landed we all gasped because there were hundreds and hundreds of people there to greet us. It’s not every day you fly on a gold-nosed plane with a gold medal around your neck!”
No doubt, after their 2016 triumph, Sophie and the rest of Team GB will continue to go from strength to strength. As Churchill once said, “This is not the end, this is not even the beginning of the end, this is just perhaps the end of the beginning.”
Local Hockey
- Teddington HC: the oldest hockey club in the world plays in a pink kit and has 8 teams of men and 6 of women, plus a large junior section from U6 – U18. teddingtonhockey.club
- Sunbury and Walton Hawks: a mid-sized club with a great social focus, Sunbury and Walton has 9 senior teams as well as strong colts’ squads. swhawks.com
- Old Georgians HC a friendly mid-sized club founded in 1995, with 7 senior sides and a thriving youth section. oghc.org
- Surbiton HC One of UK’s biggest clubs, it has 10 male and 9 female teams plus a big youth set up. The men and women’s 1st XI play at the highest level and include international players. surbitonhc.com
This interview was organised through Investec who support women’s hockey from grassroots to Team GB. For info on Investec private banking visit investec.co.uk/banking
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