Three of Great Britain’s Olympic athletes have been listed among the International Hockey Federation’s (FIH) nominees for its Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year awards.
Crista Cullen has been named as one of those nominated for the World governing body’s annual awards, for which nominations were accepted from all of the athletes who competed in the 2008 Olympic Games hockey tournament.
23-year-old Cullen, who is nominated for the Women's Young Player of the Year Award, scored three times in Beijing including GB's second goal in the 2-1 win over New Zealand and the last gasp winner against Japan two days later.
Cullen, who has 104 combined GB and England caps, is up against Ellen Hoog and Maartje Paumen of the Netherlands, Germany’s Janne Muller-Wieland and Qingling Song from China. Paumen was the top scorer in the women’s competition in Beijing with an incredible 11 goals, all from penalty corners.
Speaking after hearing of the nomination Crista said, "It is a great honour to be lined up in the category with some very talented players. Congratulations to both Barry and Ashley for their nominations."
International recognition is nothing new to Crista who was named in the FIH World Star XI after the 2006 World Cup and again 12 months later in the 2007 team. Her performances at the World Cup also earned her the 2006 GB Hockey Athlete of the Year award.
