Maddie Hinch, Janne Müller-Wieland, Thomas Briels and Barry Middleton were inducted into the EuroHockey Hall of Fame during the recent EuroHockey Championships in Mönchengladbach.
They are now part of a group of 14 players to be part of the Hall of Fame which was inaugurated in 2013. Here is a snapshot of their remarkable careers!
Maddie Hinch (England)
Maddie Hinch holds an iconic place in England and Great Britain hockey history as the goalkeeper to star in both the 2015 EuroHockey Championship and the 2016 Olympic Games final victories.
In both cases, she made the vital shoot-out saves to secure gold, famously keeping out four efforts in the Rio final against the Netherlands, with her interventions widely credited as the vital factors in her team’s success.
She followed up with a bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics along with gold at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. She was the FIH world goalkeeper of the year award in 2016, 2017 and 2018.
Janne Müller-Wieland (Germany)
One of Germany’s all-time greats, she played in 329 international matches outdoors for Die Danas across three Olympic Games and captaining the side for several years.
Among highlights, Müller-Wieland won Olympic bronze at Rio 2016, EuroHockey gold in 2013 and was part of Germany’s gold-medal winning team at the Indoor World Cup in 2018.
She signed off her international career in the most perfect style – a European indoor gold in her home city of Hamburg in front of a full house, complete with friends and family.
Thomas Briels (Belgium)
A golden boy in a golden generation, Briels had the honour to lift the Red Lions the first ever EuroHockey Championship (2019) and World Cup (2018) trophies on behalf of the Red Lions. He bowed out at the pinnacle when he completed his golden set of medals at the Tokyo Olympics.
In total, the innovative forward played 359 times for Belgium, scoring 85 goals, and became emblematic of their rise since making his debut in 2006 when still a teenager.
Barry Middleton (England)
Barry Middleton was inducted into the Hall of Fame following an international career spanning 432 games for England and Great Britain over 16-years between 2003 and 2019, scoring 119 goals and playing in four Olympic Games.
In 2014, he became the most capped English hockey international of all time when he made his 308th appearance against Australia. Then, at 33, he joined an exclusive club by becoming the fifth player in the history of hockey to reach 400 capped games.
Middleton led England to EuroHockey gold in 2009 in Amstelveen, as well as captaining Great Britain at two Olympics, including fourth place at the London games in 2012.
** Pictured top, Janne Müller-Wieland, Thomas Briels and Maddie Hinch were presented on stage with new EuroHockey President Marcos Hofmann, EuroHockey Honorary Life President Marijke Fleuren and fellow Hall of Famers Moritz Fürste, Santi Freixa, Nikki Symmons, Julia Müller and Teun de Nooijer. Barry Middleton received his induction earlier in the competition which you can read about here: https://eurohockey.org/england-legend-middleton-inducted-into-eurohockey-hall-of-fame
| Hall of Fame entrant | Country | Inducted |
| Natascha Keller | GER | 2013 |
| Santi Freixa | ESP | 2013 |
| Teun de Nooijer | NED | 2013 |
| Pol Amat | ESP | 2015 |
| Nikki Symmons | IRL | 2015 |
| Moritz Fürste | GER | 2017 |
| Kate Richardson-Walsh | ENG | 2017 |
| Maartje Paumen | NED | 2017 |
| Jérôme Truyens | BEL | 2019 |
| Julia Müller | GER | 2019 |
| Barry Middleton | ENG | 2023 |
| Maddie Hinch | ENG | 2023 |
| Thomas Briels | BEL | 2023 |
| Janne Müller-Wieland | GER | 2023 |
