The Soviets and international Olympic authorities then invited countries that had not qualified for the tournament.
A late request was sent to the government of the African nation, which hastily assembled a team less than a week before the competition started.To everyone's surprise, they won.
They defeated Poland 4-0, drew 2-2 with Czechoslovakia, won 2-0 over the host Soviet Union, drew 1-1 with India and lastly trounced Austria 4-1 to claim Zimbabwe's only medal in the 1980 Games.
McKillop was the co-top scorer of the tournament with six goals, including three penalty corners, tied with the Soviet Union's Natella Krasnikova.McKillop represented Matabeleland in basketball.
She played her club hockey for the Bulawayo Athletic Club and went on to coach the Zimbabwe Under-21 women’s team for three years, leading them to the Women's Hockey Junior World Cup in Canada in 1989.