The hockey player returned home frustrated that she came so close to winning a medal for Great Britain.

But the former Oakham School student had such a wonderful time competing in the world's greatest sporting event it was an adventure she will treasure for the rest of her life.

The 23-year-old also takes great pride that she was part of a team which finished a remarkable fourth in the medals table after the nation's best Olympic performance for a century.

She also revealed in an interview with the Rutland Times newspaper that she may not be around to play in the London Olympics in 2012 and she is considering her future in the sport.

Crista (23) said: "It was an unbelievable experience in Beijing. It has always been my dream to get there.

"A couple of times I had to pinch myself to convince myself I was actually playing at the Olympic Games."

The hockey players returned home last week with the rest of Team GB to an ecstatic reception from family, friends and members of the public at Heathrow Airport.

Crista rubbed shoulders with people like cycling triple-gold medallist Chris Hoy and swimmer Rebecca Adlington, who twice struck gold in the pool.

"It was a very special situation to be on that plane coming home and we had a fantastic reception," recalled Crista.

"Unfortunately we didn't bring home medals but it was nice to be part of such an amazing team who had achieved something that hadn't been achieved for a century."

Although Great Britain failed to make the semi-finals in the women's hockey tournament, Crista enjoyed some incredible moments, twice scoring last gasp winning goals to keep the team in the championship, against both New Zealand and Japan. She also won her 100th cap while she was competing in China.

There were also the setbacks, like the opening game against reigning champions Germany. Crista equalised but GB collapsed after that to lose 5-1. GB came back from two goals down to draw with eventual bronze medallists Argentina.

Then Crista scored those late winning goals in the next two games to keep the dream alive before a disappointing goal-less draw with the USA eliminated them.

"It was frustrating we just missed out on the semis but considering we were ranked 10th going into the tournament it was an achievement to finish sixth at the Olympics," she said.

"The two late victories were incredible, especially the Japan game which we won with only 20 seconds to go.

"It doesn't matter who scores the goals but to score those goals yourself when they were so important was quite an amazing feeling."

Crista enjoyed life in the athletes' village in Beijing when she would wander around and see superstars like Michael Phelps, the American swimmer who claimed a remarkable eight gold medals at the games, or Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt, who shattered world records in such spectacular style in the Birdsnest Stadium.

"Every day we chatted to people who had won medals and they were all such down-to-earth people," said Crista.

"Most of them are average athletes who have performed exceptionally at the Olympics.

"Some of the more high-profile athletes were absolutely mobbed wherever they went and I felt sorry for them."

Crista has been on a remarkable journey since she honed her skills at Oakham School from the age of 12.

She captained the girls' first XI and school sports instructor Jo Welch used to drive her to midlands representative matches all over the country. The pair continue to talk regularly on the phone.

Crista has won all the top honours in the domestic game with Leicester and her performances for England and GB have won her a series of top accolades, as well as a bronze medal at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne.

She revealed she has now reached a cross-roads in her hockey career and is uncertain whether she will stay in the game and compete at the 2012 London Olympics.

Her parents live in Kenya, where Crista spent her early childhood years, and she has a full-time job in London as a business development consultant for the Kennel Club.

She added: "I tore ligaments in my wrist in Beijing so I am having surgery. I will be out of the game for three months so it is an opportunity to weigh up what I want to do.

"I have played a lot of hockey in a short amount of time and there are a lot of things in life I want to do outside sport."

Whatever she decides to do Crista will always have the satisfaction of graduating from schoolgirl hockey in Rutland all the way to the Olympic Games.