Olympic Hockey Champion – Team GB Rio 2016; Committment, Teamwork & Success
England
United Kingdom
Crista Cullen won Olympic Gold with the Team GB Hockey Team at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio and Bronze at the London 2012 Olympics. Cullen, is recognised as one of the best hockey defenders in the world.
Crista has over 185 Great Britain and England combined caps, Commonwealth, World Cup and European cup bronze medals, awarded Great Britain’s Hockey player of the year. She has been named three times in the International Hockey Federation’s World All Stars Team and is Great Britain’s top goal scorer
Born in Lincolnshire, Crista spent her early life growing up in Kenya, where her family still live, before moving to Leicestershire at the age of 12 to attend Oakham School, in Rutland. She studied Business at Nottingham Trent University before working for London 2012 as their Marketing Manager. After retirement she was invited back to fight for a place in the Rio Olympic Games squad.
Crista started her hockey career at the age of just nine at Banda School in Kenya and was only introduced to an astro turf at the age of 14 during Leicestshire U15 hockey trials. Her hockey playing accelerated quickly, playing County, Regional and England before being honoured with her Great Britain Cap when she was just 18 in 2003.
Throughout her entire hockey career Crista has been dedicated to Leicester Hockey Club and has been an influential part of the team for over ten years. Leicester have successfully won the English Premier League title four times and won a European silver medal in 2011.
As a speaker Crista demonstrates the importance of determination, teamwork, commitment passion and longevity all of which together have led to Crista reaching the ultimate goal in her specialism. Crista gives inspirational and motivational talks to companies and schools.
Crista Cullen is represented for speaking by the ProMotivate Speakers Agency. To enquire about Crista speaking please contact us directly from our website or send an email to enquiries@pro-motivate.com or call London 0207 8711829.
“Crista gave us the full first-class treatment and every girl went home that night proud and excited having not only had the chance to meet our Olympic hero, but also being made to feel special because that is Crista’s way. She has a real knack to light up anyone’s life with a comment, a question and an energy that radiates out of every pore. It’s no surprise she was coaxed out of retirement by GB Hockey for their Rio bid. She oozes energy, experience and a calm passion for all that life could possibly bring. I can only imagine what she is like in and around the GB squad. They are lucky to be getting her back. Crista ran two masterclasses for us during her visit and coached nearly 150 girls in that time; all were made to feel that they had some individual treatment and all can now attempt a drag-flick having been taught that by one of the world’s best. I know Crista will be back. She is welcome anytime. We have everything crossed for Olympic success.”
“Crista was an excellent choice of speaker at our recent Prize Giving at Richmond Theatre. The girls were inspired by her story; by her determination to fight for the top and by her strength to overcome injuries and earn her place again in the GB team. The girls were of course doubly honoured – to have someone at the top of a sport they are only just beginning and also to have an Olympic athlete in the final run up to the Games. Crista must have had writer’s cramp afterwards, signing so many autographs, but she was as positive and friendly to the first as to the last. Thank you, Crista and we are all rooting for you in a few weeks!”
"Hi Jonathan, I wanted to reach out to you to express on behalf of the Leica Biosystems EMEA team the incredible positive feedback about Crista’s time with us in Malta. Not only was she incredibly engaging, took great time to understand our team and business and also what the key message was . . and all of this was in advance of coming to our event. Crista shared her incredible story during which she also brought theory to it linking the practical and theory together. Her passion and belief came across through the whole time she was on stage in how she delivered such that some shared with me this week they would have liked to hear more from Crista. For one lady she came to me after said she did not want a photo taken with Crista that to have had the chance to talk with her after the event was better than any photo. We had no problem with people stepping forward to get their photo taken with Crista . . the line formed very quickly and did not stop for some time. Today I am in Paris with some of the team and they talked about Crista’s message . . about how Crista talked about the team and how as account managers in the field they could relate to what Crista needed to do while winning her place on the team. Crista reminded them of the team of people that are there to help. Crista thank you for all you did preparing and for the time you took on Thursday evening. Jonathan we were the winners having Crista come and be with us in Malta."