Becky Downie
Encyclopedia
Rebecca Lauren Downie (born 24 January 1992) is a British gymnast from Nottingham, England.
, she was the youngest member of the English
team that won a silver medal. Downie herself won a bronze medal for her beam routine.
Downie turned senior in 2007 and enjoyed a successful year. She was a member of the team who competed at the World Championships in Stuttgart and achieved the best ever result for a British team, finishing sixth in preliminaries and seventh in the team final. This result easily qualified them to the 2008 Olympics in Beijing
. Becky was first reserve for both the vault and bars finals, but did not get to compete in either.
2008 was also successful, Downie competed at the 2008 European Gymnastics Championships in April and helped the British team to a 6th place finish. Becky qualified to both vault and bars finals, but was suffering from the flu on the day they were held. She crashed on one of her vaults, finishing 8th. This was followed with a gutsy but slightly underpar performance on bars, having fallen several times in warmups. A small mistake led her to again finish 8th. However, despite her disappointing result she and Beth Tweddle
became the first British women to compete in two individual event finals in the same European championship.
in Beijing
. She finished 12th in the Women's artistic individual all-around, the highest position for a British female gymnast in history.
Early career
Downie began training in gymnastics at the age of 7 at Bigwood Gymnastics Club before moving to Notts Gymnastics Club as she continued to succeed. There, coached by Claire Starkey, she has won many junior titles including the British Espoir and Junior National titles. At the 2006 Commonwealth Games2006 Commonwealth Games
The 2006 Commonwealth Games were held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia between 15 March and 26 March 2006. It was the largest sporting event to be staged in Melbourne, eclipsing the 1956 Summer Olympics in terms of the number of teams competing, athletes competing, and events being held.The site...
, she was the youngest member of the English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
team that won a silver medal. Downie herself won a bronze medal for her beam routine.
2006-2008
In July 2006, she won the all-around of the Junior British Championships, plus gold medals on the floor and vault and a bronze on bars. As of July 2006, she had won 4 national championships in four straight years at age 14.Downie turned senior in 2007 and enjoyed a successful year. She was a member of the team who competed at the World Championships in Stuttgart and achieved the best ever result for a British team, finishing sixth in preliminaries and seventh in the team final. This result easily qualified them to the 2008 Olympics in Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
. Becky was first reserve for both the vault and bars finals, but did not get to compete in either.
2008 was also successful, Downie competed at the 2008 European Gymnastics Championships in April and helped the British team to a 6th place finish. Becky qualified to both vault and bars finals, but was suffering from the flu on the day they were held. She crashed on one of her vaults, finishing 8th. This was followed with a gutsy but slightly underpar performance on bars, having fallen several times in warmups. A small mistake led her to again finish 8th. However, despite her disappointing result she and Beth Tweddle
Beth Tweddle
Elizabeth "Beth" Kimberly Tweddle MBE is an English gymnast. Tweddle is a three time world champion having won the 2010 World Championships and 2006 World Championshipson the uneven bars and the 2009 World Championships on the floor...
became the first British women to compete in two individual event finals in the same European championship.
2008 Olympics
In June 2008, Downie became British Senior National Champion and was selected to compete for Great Britain in the 2008 Summer Olympics2008 Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...
in Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
. She finished 12th in the Women's artistic individual all-around, the highest position for a British female gymnast in history.