Gail Emms

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Gail Emms
Personal information
Birth name Gail Elizabeth Emms
Country  England
Born (1977-07-23) 23 July 1977 (age 47)
Hitchin, Hertfordshire, England
Height 1.63 m (5 ft 4 in)
Handedness Right
Coach
  • Andy Wood
  • Julian Robertson
Mixed & Women's Doubles
Highest ranking 1 (in XD)
Medal record
Badminton
Representing  United Kingdom
Olympic Games
Silver medal – second place 2004 Athens Mixed doubles
Representing  England
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2006 Madrid Mixed Doubles
Commonwealth Games
Gold medal – first place 2002 Manchester Mixed Team
Gold medal – first place 2006 Melbourne Mixed doubles
Silver medal – second place 2006 Melbourne Mixed team
Bronze medal – third place 2002 Manchester Women's doubles
Bronze medal – third place 2006 Melbourne Women's doubles
European Championships
Gold medal – first place 2004 Geneva Mixed doubles
Gold medal – first place 2006 Den Bosch Women's doubles
BWF profile

Gail Elizabeth Emms MBE (born 23 July 1977 in Hitchin, Hertfordshire) is a retired English badminton player who has achieved international success in doubles tournaments.

Her best results were winning gold at the 2006 World Championships in Madrid, 2004 European Championships in Geneva, and a silver medal at the 2004 Olympic Games, partnering Nathan Robertson in the mixed doubles. At the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester she won a bronze medal with Joanne Goode in the women's doubles and won gold as part of the England team in the mixed team event. She also took the World Badminton Grand Prix title in 2003 with Nathan Robertson. In the English National Badminton Championships she won the mixed doubles three times and the women's doubles twice.

Early life

A badminton player since the age of four, Emms was first chosen to represent England in 1995 and regularly played for her country until her retirement. She attended the Dame Alice Harpur School in Bedford, a private girls' school. In 1998 she graduated with a BSc (Hons) in Sports Science from Kingston University.[1] She is sponsored by badminton equipment company Wilson.

2004 Summer Olympics Athens

Emms competed in badminton at the 2004 Summer Olympics in women's doubles with partner Donna Kellogg. They defeated Koon Wai Chee and Li Wing Mui of Hong Kong in the first round but were defeated by Zhao Tingting and Wei Yili of China in the second round.

She also competed in mixed doubles with Robertson. They had a bye in the first round and defeated Björn Siegemund and Nicol Pitro of Germany in the second. In the quarterfinals, Emms and Robertson beat Chen Qiqiu and Zhao Tingting of China 15-8, 17-15 to advance to the semifinals. There, they beat Jonas Rasmussen and Rikke Olsen of Denmark 15-6, 15-12. In the final, they lost to the Chinese pair Zhang Jun and Gao Ling 15-1, 12-15, 15-12 to finish with the silver medal.

2006

The 2006 Commonwealth Games brought Emms a Silver in the team event, a Bronze in the women's doubles (with Donna Kellogg) and a Gold in the mixed doubles (with Nathan Robertson). An additional gold together with Robertson followed at the 2006 IBF World Championships.

2008 Summer Olympics, Beijing

Emms participated in the women's doubles with partner Donna Kellogg only to be knocked out in the first round by the Chinese pair Wei Yili and Zhao Tingting.

Emms then went on to win her first match in the mixed doubles with Nathan Robertson against the Chinese world number 2 pair. Emms and Robertson won the first game 21-16 before Gao Ling and her new partner Zheng Bo hit back to win the second 21-16.

The British duo found themselves 12-17 down in the decider only to recover to win 21-19.

Emms and Robertson lost out on a medal at the quarter final stage against the world number 10 pair Lee Yong-dae and Lee Hyo-jung. The Korean pair then went on to win the gold medal.

Emms retired after the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.[2]

Media appearances

Emms has appeared on the sports-based panel show A Question of Sport and is a regular guest on Fighting Talk.

On 6 March 2014, she appeared on Sport Relief's Top Dog with her dog Raffa, a Westie. They won their heat, and went on to win the semi-final against Jenni Falconer on 20 March and the final, where they competed against Sally Gunnell.

Personal life

Emms is a passionate supporter of Tottenham Hotspur.[3]

She gave birth to her first child, Harry, in March 2010.[4] Emms gave birth to her second child, Oliver, in May 2013.

Emms was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2009 Birthday Honours.[5]

Record against selected opponents

Mixed Doubles results with former partner Nathan Robertson against Super Series finalists, Worlds Semi-finalists, and Olympic quarterfinalists.[6]

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References

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External links

  1. ↑ http://www.kingston.ac.uk/alumni/made-in-kingston/profiles/Gail-Emms/
  2. ↑ Emms to quit after Beijing Games
  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ EMMS JUNIOR - Gail gives Birth to Baby Boy
  5. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 59090. p. 16. 13 June 2009.
  6. ↑ http://www.tournamentsoftware.com/profile/selectheadtohead.aspx?id=65644EE8-49BA-467D-80AB-01DD577F91B7
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