Tokyo Olympic selection for Selkirk hockey star Sarah

Let's stick together ... Sarah Robertson, left, in European action recently for Scotland against Ireland (picture by Eurohockey)

The sport’s chiefs north of the border say it is a deserved achievement for the incredible hard work and determination she has shown over the years for Scotland and for GB.

Sarah, from Selkirk, recently played a prominent role in the Scotland women’s campaign at the 2021 Eurohockey Championships in Amsterdam, taking part in five games and scoring a goal.

The 27-year-old midfielder started off playing football and rugby, and played football for Scotland at youth level before making the transition to hockey.

A former pupil at Selkirk High School, Sarah played for Borders Fjordhus and learned from her coach, former Scotland and GB athlete Janet Jack, before later joining the University of Edinburgh, where she was a student and would earn a First Class Honours degree in law.

Sarah made her Scotland debut in 2012 and then her GB debut in 2015, and has gone on to win and exceptional 104 Scotland caps and 54 GB caps.

In 2013, she represented GB at the Youth Olympics in Sydney and, a year later, she wore the blue of Scotland at the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games.

Fast forward a year and, with a successful 2015 EuroHockey Championships campaign to her name, Sarah was awarded the 2015 Borders Sports Personality of the Year.

A familiar figure in the number 10 vest, Sarah represented Scotland at her second Commonwealth Games in 2018, when the team played in the Gold Coast. When Scotland won Women’s EuroHockey Championship II 2019 in Glasgow, Sarah was a central figure in the team, and its success, in front of a sell-out home crowd.

Currently playing club hockey for Hampstead and Westminster, Sarah is a regular for GB women in the FIH Pro League and has been on a fine goalscoring streak recently. She recently won her 50th cap for GB, scoring in the process, and selection for the Tokyo Olympics is the next stage in Sarah’s incredible progression as an athlete and a role model.

Scottish Hockey’s head of performance Andy Tennant said: “We are so pleased to have a female athlete selected for the Olympics, following in the footsteps of Laura Bartlett and Emily Maguire in London in 2012.

“But, more importantly, we are delighted for Sarah, given the hard work and dedication she has shown to get to this point.

"While participating in the GB programme, she has also managed to achieve a First Class Honours degree in law from the University of Edinburgh, which is testament to Sarah’s grit and determination to succeed.

“Sarah is an excellent role model for our aspiring young athletes – and I know her family and support network in the borders will be extremely proud of her achievement.”