Hertfordshire has been home to its fair share of famous faces but did you know the county is also the breeding ground from some of the most iconic sporting stars in Great Britain?
From professional footballers to boxers and olympians, a lot of sporting talent hails from the region.
We've compiled a list of some of the greatest sporting champions from the county:
Paul Robinson - Footballer
Paul Robinson enjoyed seven years at Watford. Picture: Action Images
Paul Robinson is a former professional footballer who played as a left-sided defender. Also capable of playing at centre-back, he represented five clubs in the Premier League and Football League between 1996 and 2018.
He was capped three times for the England under-21 team in 1999.
Robinson began his professional career at Watford in 1996, and made 252 appearances for the club, before moving to West Bromwich Albion in October 2003.
He made 238 appearances for West Brom, before joining Premier League side Bolton Wanderers in July 2009, initially on loan, and then on a permanent transfer at the start of the 2010–11 season.
He was released by Bolton at the end of the 2011–12 season, and joined his final club, Birmingham City, on a free transfer in September 2012.
After 175 first-team appearances, he retired as a player, but remained with the club as assistant senior professional development coach working with the U23 team and in June 2019 was appointed lead professional development coach, a post that included responsibility for the under-18s. He left the club in August 2020.
Steven Finn
Steven Finn scored 20 runs for England. Picture: Action Images
English cricketer Steven Finn went to Parmiter's School in Garston near Watford.
He is a right-arm fast bowler, who also bats right-handed.
At the age of 16, he became Middlesex County Cricket Club's youngest-ever debutant in first-class cricket.
He made his England Test debut in 2010 against Bangladesh. In 2019 he became a commentator for Test Match Special.
In February and March 2010, he was part of the England Lions team to tour the United Arab Emirates, earning selection with a solid 2009 season of 53 wickets at 30.64.
He impressed the selectors, and was short-listed for the 2009 World Twenty20 though was not picked for the final team.
Finn also played during the 2015 Ashes series.
Anthony Joshua - Boxer
(Nick Potts/PA)
Heavyweight champion boxer Anthony Joshua, OBE grew up on the Meriden Estate in Watford and attended Kings Langley Secondary School.
He excelled at football and athletics and broke his school's Year Nine 100 m record with a time of 11.6 seconds.
The two-time unified heavyweight champion, has held the WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, and IBO titles since December 2019 and previously between 2016 and June 2019.
At regional level, he held the British and Commonwealth heavyweight titles from 2015 to 2016.
One of Great Britain's most famous boxers of all time, Anthony Joshua is one of Watford's brightest stars.
Reece Bellotti - Boxer
Reece Bellotti winning the 2012 ABA crown at 54kg. Picture: Action Images
Another celebrated professional boxer from the county, Reece Bellotti held the Commonwealth featherweight title from 2017 to 2018, and challenged once for the British featherweight title in 2018.
As an amateur, he won two ABA national championships, one at bantamweight in 2012 and a second at featherweight in 2013.
Born in Watford, he started boxing at age 15 as a means to keep fit at the South Oxhey Boxing Club in the town.
He had his first amateur fight at the age of 17, and under the tutelage of amateur trainer Mick Courtney, Bellotti went on to win the ABA bantamweight championships in 2012 and again at featherweight in 2013.
Max Whitlock - Gymnast
Whitlock at the Rio Olympics (David Davies/PA)
Artisitc gymnast from Hemel Hempstead, Max Whitlock MBE is a five-time Olympic medallist, winning two golds and three bronzes.
He is also an eight-time world medallist on the same apparatus with three gold and five silvers.
He became Britain's first ever gold medallist in artistic gymnastics when he won both the men's floor and pommel horse exercises at the 2016 Summer Olympics.
With twelve medals and five titles in Olympic and world championships, Whitlock is the most successful gymnast in British history.
During the Rio Olympics in 2016 he first won a bronze medal in the all-round gymnastics event, which is Team GB's first medal in this Olympic event for 108 years. Days later he won the gold medals in the Men's Floor and Men's Pommel Horse events, becoming his country's most successful Olympic gymnast, and its first Olympic champion in gymnastics.
Ian Walker - Footballer
Former professional footballer and goalkeeper Ian Walker was born in Watford. His former clubs include Tottenham Hotspur, Leicester City and Bolton Wanderers.
Walker is the son of Mike Walker who was also a goalkeeper and managed Norwich City and Everton.
Walker was capped by the England national team four times, making his debut in 1996 against Hungary.
His most infamous game was against Italy in a qualification match for the 1998 World Cup where he is widely believed to have been at fault to a Gianfranco Zola strike.
Despite Walker's club Leicester suffering relegation from the Premier League, he played his first England match in seven years as a 61st-minute substitute for Paul Robinson in a 6–1 win over Iceland on 5 June 2004, which was also his last international.
Have you seen any of these sports stars at an event? Let us know in the comments.
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