THE story of how Zimbabwe won its first-ever gold medal and the first gold medal in the sport of women’s field hockey team, at the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow, plays out like a Hollywood-style movie.

The team, captained by Durban North resident Ann Grant, was the only team from the African continent in the women’s field hockey discipline at the Games, and are affectionately known as the ‘Golden Girls’.

The team’s historic triumph is a story of dogged determination and a moment to savour as the Moscow games marked the first time that women’s hockey was included as an Olympic discipline. Men’s field hockey had been played since 1908.

Zimbabwe were grouped with Czechoslovakia, Soviet Union, India, Austria and Poland and played each other in a round-robin format.

The team went unbeaten at the Moscow games, drawing two and winning three of their matches.

“Something else to consider is that none of our team had ever played hockey on artificial turf or Astro as it is now known. We played on grass where the bounce of the ball and speed were vastly different. We only had a month to prepare for the games, and we arrived about three weeks before the start of the competition. The first thing we did was rush to the sports shop because we had to wear different shoes. We had to wear a multi-stud shoe that was better on wet surfaces – we didn’t play in the rain in Zimbabwe, so we had to get used to the surface. We used our time to practise and get accustomed to the new surface,” she explained.

Ann also spoke on the team’s experience at the games.

“Being at the Olympics was a massive honour, especially as we were representing our new nation of Zimbabwe which was recognised in April 1980. (The games took place in August.) It was also the fact that this was the first time women’s field hockey was a discipline. We were like a bunch of schoolgirls at the Olympic village. It was so much fun because we had amenities open to us on a 24 hour basis. We also met so many other Olympians, including Sir Sebastian Coe and athlete Daley Thompson.

“Even the opening ceremony was an incredible occasion as they introduced the countries in alphabetical order. We stood outside for close to four and a half hours, and even though we missed most of the other countries entering, the atmosphere was just incredible. We walked into the Lenin Stadium with more than 100 000 people cheering in the stands. It was a moment of awe and pride for us in our blue uniforms,” she said.

In the final game of the round-robin stages, Zimbabwe beat Austria to win a historic gold medal.

“It is hard to describe the joy we had as a team. Our vice-captain, Liz Chase, who passed away in 2018, said something very poignant when we arrived in Moscow. We were looking at the podium steps, and each place was carpeted in a different colour. She said ‘girls, do you see the podium?’ while pointing at the number one position which was carpeted in red. ‘We only want red’, and that really stuck with us throughout the tournament. At the medal ceremony, because we didn’t have an official anthem, the Olympic hymn was played instead. Seeing our national flag raised was just incredible, and we also recognised the enormity of what we had achieved,” she said.

Ann, who has five brothers all with names that end in the letter N – John, Colin, Duncan, Gordon, Allen – used her time to give back to the sport of field hockey when she returned from the Olympic games.

“My son, Bruce, captained the SA U21 hockey team at the World Cup and still, to this day, plays for Riverside Hockey Club. My husband and I are now lifetime members, but it is safe to say that we are all avid sports fans, especially during the Olympics. When we moved to Durban North, my Olympic journey allowed me to coach and develop the game into what it is today. I coached at school level, including at Northlands Girls’ High School and Northwood School. I also introduced mini-hockey at Virginia Preparatory School,” she said.

Ann, who was introduced to the sport of hockey at the age of nine, played for 50 years and retired at 59.

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