Sutton Coldfield hockey star Laura has sights firmly fixed on home Games

But, if you decide to take a walk on a crisp winter’s morning on December 25, don’t be surprised if you catch a glimpse of the Olympic hockey star jogging determinedly around Sutton Park.

Unsworth, Great Britain’s most decorated Olympic hockey player, has her eyes on the prize once more as the Commonwealth Games head to Birmingham.

And with the hockey training base at Wyndley Leisure Centre and the Commonwealth competition in Birmingham, it’s little wonder the hunger remains. She’s fully motivated and targeting further glory.

“When you are winning medals, you forget about the tough training sessions, such as at Christmas,” says the 33-year-old.

“It’s funny because, in 2019, I was thinking ‘this might be my last Christmas training’ but then the pandemic came and the Olympics were postponed.

“Then they went ahead this year, we won a medal and now we have the Commonwealth Games in my home city, so I am all gunning for the Games and Christmas training again.

"I might even be out on Christmas Day in the morning, running around saying hello! The way I look at it is that you are only an elite athlete for a short amount of time. You have to make the most of the opportunities while you can because you are a long-time retired.”

The many highs, including Olympic gold in Rio in 2016 and bronze in London 2012, and Toyko, make the sacrifices and long hours of training worth it.

And, so, a home Commonwealth Games was always likely to make Unsworth extend her ambitions, having secured bronze and silver at the 2010 and 2014 events. And while she hasn’t ruled out Paris 2024, next summer is her priority.

“The short-term goal to play in my home city, where it all started, with friends and family in the crowd is something very special and something I will remember,” she says. “It would be one of the highlights of my career. That’s my next challenge.

“Commonwealth Games gold is missing so would be lovely to add to the collection, really unbelievable.

"We have a new head coach, David Ralph, who has stepped up from assistant. As a squad, we have retained a lot of players from the Olympics so we don’t have that transition.

“So we are in a good place. We head back into training in January and will have a few hard months of preparation.”

For Unsworth, the prospect of training on the pitch where it all started for her – albeit one which will be upgraded to a world-class facility – is something she is thrilled about.

The existing hockey pitch being upgraded to a Federation International Hockey (FIH) standard pitch, to replicate the playing surface at the University of Birmingham, the hockey competition venue. Improvements are also being made to the fencing and floodlights on the site.

The improvements at Wyndley Leisure Centre, which will also see the athletics track on site being refurbished, have been funded through the Birmingham 2022 capital programme budget and through national lottery funding via Sport England.

“It’s unbelievable,” she says. “To have a world-class hockey pitch being laid is great for Sutton Coldfield Hockey Club and it’s great for Birmingham as a whole.

"And for the next 20 years this is just going to be coming incredible place for people in the town to come and play hockey.

“For Sutton Coldfield to be a training venue, I just think people in the town are going to love it.

“I think Sutton Hockey Club will be great hosts and I think they’ll be down here probably watching a lot of training sessions.

"Hopefully there will be a few practice matches that people can come down and watch and see how we train.

“To have this here full time after the Commonwealth Games as legacy of Birmingham 2022 is just great.”

And Unsworth is hoping that her record-breaking achievements might just inspire the next hockey star from the town, as she was herself inspired by 1992 Olympic bronze medallist Jane Sixsmith.

“I don’t think it will ever sink in that I am the most decorated hockey player in Britain until I’m much older and maybe have grandchildren and can share stories from the past,” she says.

“If I look back on my career, it has been unbelievable. I was very fortunate to come through at a good time.

“I made my debut in 2008, after Beijing, and London had been announced as host city in 2005 so money was being ploughed into the sport.

“So since 2009, hockey has been a full time sport and that has made a huge difference to us as a country, it’s allowed us to compete against the best in the world and come away with medals.

“You hope with the Commonwealth Games being hosted in Birmingham, with multidisciplinary events and other sports on that, might mean other people will get the bug of wanting and will go to play and try different sports.

“Then hopefully we inspire them and maybe in 10 or 12 years time they’ll be the ones competing at the next Commonwealth Games.

“I had it myself with Jasper (Jane Sixsmith). She had been to three Olympics and was just, I think going off to Sydney, just as I started playing hockey.

“She was just a normal girl from Sutton Coldfield and I saw you could go and compete for Great Britain and play for England at major games. She showed that it’s really possible.

" I think that’s what every kid just needs to know – if you have a dream you can go and achieve it.”

EXCITING NEWS

Hockey legend Jane Sixsmith, who won a silver medal as part of the Team England hockey team at the 1998 Commonwealth Games, has said the decision to use Wyndley as a training venue is huge news.

“It’s very exciting news that Wyndley Leisure Centre has been selected as an official training venue for the hockey teams competing at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.

“Not only will it be inspiring for members of the club to know that our home pitch will be used by some of the global stars of hockey, but it also means that the facilities we use are receiving a significant upgrade, so we’ll have an international standard pitch to play and train on - it’s a fantastic legacy for the Games.”

Wyndley Leisure Centre is owned by Birmingham City Council and operated by Birmingham Community Leisure Trust.

Birmingham City Council's Cabinet Member for Health and Social Care, Councillor Paulette Hamilton said: “It’s great to see facilities in our community are able to play a part in preparing athletes for the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games – the event is about much more than the main competition venues, and this shows how the benefits of being the Proud Host City are extending beyond the sporting action next summer."

“The investment at some of these training venues, such as Wyndley Leisure Centre in Sutton Coldfield, will leave a meaningful legacy for the residents and local sporting clubs that use them. It is providing a platform for people to lead more active and healthy lives, whilst also giving emerging talent the facilities and infrastructure to be the next generation of elite athletes.”

As the athlete’s needs are such a high priority, Birmingham 2022 has also decided to make the most of the fantastic facilities at the three Commonwealth Games campus villages that were announced last year, at the University of Birmingham, the University at Warwick and the NEC. All three will now add training venues to the list of facilities they are providing for the Games.

The swimming pool and athletics track at the University of Birmingham will now be used by the competing nations and territories. A state-of-the-art boxing and netball training venue will also be created within a hall at the NEC, providing athletes with elite boxing rings, training equipment and recovery areas. The netball players will also have access to two world standard netball courts. The University of Warwick will provide elite training facilities for Rugby Sevens, judo and wrestling.

The final training venue is King Edward’s School in Birmingham, which will welcome Birmingham 2022’s rhythmic gymnasts, as well as some of the Athletics and Para Athletics competitors.

Matt Kidson, Director of Sport for Birmingham 2022, said: “Following our public search for venues which we launched last year, it’s great to be able to confirm the facilities that we have now selected as official training venues for the Games.

“We had a great response with more than forty applications from facilities across the region. We would like to thank everyone that applied, and we look forward to working with the venues that have been selected, to ensure that we provide the world-class training facilities for all of the athletes taking part in the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.”

More details about the Games, including information about tickets which are due to go back on sale in just a few weeks’ time, can be found at birmingham2022.com