The 22-year-old former Oakham School pupil is one of the stars of the Great Britain women's hockey team.

They begin their games adventure on August 10 against reigning champions Germany in front of a sell-out 17,000 spectators.

It will be Crista's first Olympic Games and she is raring to go. Before flying to China on Tuesday she told the Rutland Times: "I'm really excited and I can't wait to get out there.

"We have a really tough group but I am confident if we play as well as we can we have the potential to win a medal."

Crista admits she was devastated when GB failed to qualify for the last Olympics in Athens after losing a sudden death play-off to Korea.

She made amends by scoring two of the goals in the 3-2 EuroHockey Nations Championships win over Spain to clinch qualification for Bejing almost a year ago.

Britain have been drawn in Pool B of the women's hockey tournament, alongside the Germans, Argentina, Japan, New Zealand and USA.

The top two go through to the semi-finals to play-off for the medals with the best two teams from Pool A.

"We have developed a lot over the last two or three years and we know we can compete with the best teams in the world," said Crista, who was born in Lincolnshire but grew up in Kenya.

"Holland are ranked number one but we have run them close in a number of matches and we beat them recently on home turf.

"We know Germany quite well because we have played a few Test matches recently against them and on the day anything can happen.

"New Zealand and Argentina will also be tough. We play our hardest games first so it is vital we get off to a good start and get some points in the bag."

Crista, who will have three of her Leicester clubmates playing with her at the Olympics, has had to recover from a series of injuries in the run-up to the games.

She broke a finger earlier this year, then took a nasty whack on the leg in a match and now she is feeling the effects of a torn ligament in her wrist.

A mixture of rest and pain-killing injections will ensure Crista is there when the action begins.

"I am really looking forward to getting into the village and mixing with the athletes from the other sports," she said.

"The hockey stadium is the nearest venue to the athletes' village so hopefully we will get a lot of support from the other British sportsmen and women.

"Unfortunately the hockey goes on for two weeks so we might not get the chance to see a lot of the other sports."

There has been a lot of speculation about the poor air quality in Bejing and how it might affect athletes in the various sports but Crista is philosophical about it.

She said: "I am not worried to be honest. It will be the same for both teams when we take to the field.

"The pollution issue is something every player has to deal with."

The third pool match will be special for Crista as it will mark her 100th cap for Great Britain and England combined.

Her parents will be flying over from their home in Africa to cheer her on – dad Gary a former professional golfer and mum Gae, an ex-international sqaush player.

If Great Britain make the semi-final that game will be played on Crista's 23rd birthday.

"Mum and dad haven't seen me play very much so it will be lovely to have them there when I play in the Olympics," she added.

Two other people who will be passionately rooting for Crista are Charlie and Jo Welch, her sporting mentors at Oakham School.

She rates them as the biggest influences on her career. "Without a doubt I would not have achieved what I have in hockey without them," said Crista, who is an all-action defender.

"Jo was particularly good to me. She would drive me around the country to Midlands representative matches on her day off. There isn't a two or three-week period goes by without me speaking to them on the phone."

Since her days as a schoolgirl in Oakham, Crista has developed into one of the world's best players.

She has twice recently been named in the prestigious World Hockey All Star XI and is a two-times winner of the coveted Hockey Writers Club UK Player of the Year award. She won a bronze medal at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne but an Olympic medal would top everything.

"I have worked so hard for all the success I have had in the sport," added Crista. "Through school and university I didn't have a social life because I was committed to hockey. Bejing will be fantastic and obviously the London Olympics is in 2012.

"Four years is a long time away and anything can happen but I would love to represent my country on home ground."