Gillian Margaret "Gill" Cowley (born 8 July 1955 in Kitwe, Northern Rhodesia) is a former hockey player from Zimbabwe, who was a member of the national team that won the gold medal at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow.[1]

Gillian Cowley
Personal information
Born (1955-07-08) 8 July 1955 (age 69)
Kitwe, Northern Rhodesia
Medal record
Women's Field Hockey
Representing  Zimbabwe
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1980 Moscow Team Competition

Because of the boycott of the United States and other countries, only one team was available to compete in the Women's Hockey Tournament: the hosting USSR team[failed verification]. A late request was sent to the government of the African nation, which quickly assembled a team less than a week before the competition started. To everyone's surprise they won, claiming Zimbabwe's only medal in the 1980 Games. The team became known as the "Golden Girls."[2]

References

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  1. ^ Nauright, John; Parrish, Charles, eds. (2012). Sports around the world : history, culture, and practice. Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO. p. 121. ISBN 9781598843019. OCLC 815668821.
  2. ^ Bulla, Fatima (12 April 2015). "#1980SoFarSoGood: So Zimbabwe, so gold!…Golden Girl relives 1980 Moscow Olympics | The Sunday Mail". www.sundaymail.co.zw. Retrieved 27 November 2017.
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