I had back surgery to shave discs and burn nerve… six months later I want to captain Team GB to Paris 2024 Olympics gold

HOLLIE PEARNE-WEBB told Team GB hockey fans they are in for another rollercoaster ride in pursuit of Olympic gold.

And her own journey to Paris has already had plenty of twists and turns, undergoing back surgery less than six months ago.

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Pearne-Webb, 33, will captain GB’s women in France, just as she did in Tokyo where they secured bronze - following gold in Rio and bronze in London.

But will it be bronze, gold, bronze, gold in four successive Olympics?

Qualified accountant Pearne-Webb told SunSport: “I absolutely, because I've been there and done it, 100 per cent believe that this squad can get a medal and could be on the top of the podium if we play our A game.

“You can't look much further than the Dutch but any of the top ten teams in the world can beat anyone.

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“It’s a case of expecting the Olympic Games to be a rollercoaster.

“The matches come thick and fast. We've got four games in five days.

“There'll be a lot of noise out there. The women's team have won four Olympic medals in total and three of them have been in the past three Games, but that wasn’t the norm.

“It’s important we write our own story and create our own history.”

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But for skipper Pearne-Webb, even being on the train to Paris was up in the air in February as she lay on the surgery table to fix a back injury sustained last September.

She explained: “I tried non-surgical rehab but it still wasn’t right. I had no choice but it was definitely the right decision.

BBC's Olympics line-up in full

Presenters:

• Clare Balding
• Gabby Logan
• Hazel Irvine
• Isa Guha
• Jeanette Kwakye
• JJ Chalmers
• Mark Chapman

Studio guests:

• Beth Tweddle
• Chris Hoy
• Denise Lewis
• Fred Sirieix
• Jessica Ennis-Hill
• Kate Richardson-Walsh
• Katherine Grainger
• Laura Kenny
• Mark Foster
• Michael Johnson
• Nicola Adams
• Rebecca Adlington
• Tonia Couch

Radio:

• Adrian Chiles
• Eleanor Oldroyd
• Kelly Cates
• Mark Chapman
• Naga Munchetty
• Tony Livesey

“I had two prolapsed discs so I had a microdiscectomy. I had some discs shaved and a nerve stuck to a blood vessel burnt off. Lots of fun!

“I was on a bike three weeks later and running a few weeks after that.

“If there were any hiccups, then Paris would be tight. Selection was very emotional, at times I doubted it.

“It’s unlikely I’ll go to another Olympics so I'm conscious I need to enjoy every moment of this one and hopefully that ends up with a medal.”

Team GB have avoided being drawn in the same group as the Netherlands, who thrashed GB 5-1 in the 2021 semi-final.

Instead, they are in Pool B with Australia, Argentina, Spain, United States and South Africa - opening their campaign against the Spanish on July 28.

Just four of Rio’s gold-medal squad remain - Pearne-Webb, Laura Roper, Giselle Ansley and Lily Owsley.

But the captain believes GB have the perfect balance of experience and youthful talent, especially in goal as Miriam Pritchard takes on the gloves from legendary Maddie Hinch.

Pearne-Webb, who scored the winning penalty in the Rio 2016 final shootout, added: “Some countries have incredible individuals but it's the best team that will do well.

“That's something the GB women's hockey team have always really relied on.

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“Some of our younger members are ridiculously skilful. We’ve got a nice blend of experience and really new, raw, incredible talent.

“We miss Maddie but we’re very lucky. We’ve got four goalkeepers and I think our goalkeepers are the best in the world because they've had to fight and train with Maddie for that spot for so long.”

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