Deta Hedman (born 14 November 1959) is an English

darts Darts or dart-throwing is a competitive sport in which two or more players bare-handedly throw small projectile point, sharp-pointed projectile, missiles known as dart (missile), darts at a round shooting target, target known as a #Dartboard, dar ...

player who plays in

World Darts Federation The World Darts Federation (WDF) is a sport governing body and (along with the PDC) a tournament organiser for the game of darts. It was formed in 1974 by representatives of the original fourteen founding members. Membership is open to the natio ...

(WDF) events.

Biography

Hedman was born in Jamaica in 1959. Her parents emigrated to the United Kingdom in the early 1960s, leaving Hedman and her siblings in the care of relatives in Jamaica. She spent her childhood with her aunt in Castleton in a shack without running water or electricity, going to school from Monday to Thursday and working on the farm on Fridays. Her parents eventually settled in

Witham, Essex Witham () is a town in the Counties of England, county of Essex in the East of England, with a population (United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census) of 25,353. It is part of the District of Braintree (district), Braintree and is twinned with the ...

and over time, brought their children to the UK, with Hedman joining them in January 1973. She started playing darts with her older brother after babysitting for him and then at the local pub in Witham and further afield in Essex. When she was 25, she joined a super league. She was selected for the county, and in 1987 she began playing in British Darts Organisation events.

Career

Hedman reached the Women's World Masters final for the first time in 1990, losing to Rhian Speed. She beat defending champion

Mandy Solomons Mandy or Mandie may refer to: People * Mandy (name), a female given name and nickname * Iván Mándy (1918-1995), Hungarian writer * Mark Mandy (born 1972), Irish retired high jumper * Philip Mandie (born 1942), a former judge on the Supreme ...

to win the Women's World Masters in 1994. When she retired from darts in 1997 due to work commitments, she had been Women's World Number 1 since 1994. Hedman returned to darts in 2002 with the

Professional Darts Corporation The Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) is a professional darts organisation in the United Kingdom, established in 1992 when a group of leading players split from the British Darts Organisation (BDO) to form what was initially called the World ...

. She qualified for the

UK Open The Cazoo UK Open is a ranking major darts tournament held annually at the Butlins Minehead Resort by the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) in England. Often referred to as the "FA Cup of darts", the UK Open replicates the abolition of seedin ...

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

, and more famously in

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

, when she defeated

Aaron Turner Aaron Turner (born November 5, 1977) is an American musician, singer, graphic artist, and founder of label Hydra Head Records. He is most widely known for his role as guitarist and vocalist for the post-metal bands SUMAC and Isis, while also pa ...

and Norman Fletcher before losing to

Wayne Atwood Wayne Edward Atwood (born 24 July 1964 in Caerphilly) is a Welsh retired professional darts player from Caerphilly. He is not a full-time professional player – he makes his full-time living as a plasterer. He used the nickname the Celtic Warr ...

in the last 64. Her win over Turner was the first time that a female darts player had beaten a male player in a televised major. Due to work commitments, Hedman retired again in 2007 but returned to the BDO in 2009. After winning numerous open titles in 2009, she qualified for the BDO Women's World Championship for the first time in

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

. She defeated

Irina Armstrong Irina Armstrong (russian: Ирина Армстронг) née Loginova (born 6 December 1970) is a Russian-born German female professional darts player who currently plays in the World Darts Federation (WDF) events. Her biggest achievement to da ...

2–0 in the quarter-finals, but was beaten 2–0 by eventual champion

Trina Gulliver Catrina Elizabeth Gulliver (born 30 November 1969) is an English professional darts player. She is the 10-time Women's World Professional Darts Champion of the British Darts Organisation (BDO). Her nickname is Golden Girl and in 2003, she was n ...

in the semi-finals. Hedman won the 2010 BDO Classic tournament beating

Karen Lawman Karen may refer to: * Karen (name), a given name and surname * Karen (slang), a term and meme for a demanding woman displaying certain behaviors People * Karen people, an ethnic group in Myanmar and Thailand ** Karen languages or Karenic l ...

3-2 in the final. Hedman also competed in the first PDC Women's World Darts Championship in

, but lost to Fiona Carmichael in the quarter-finals. At the

2011 BDO World Darts Championship The 2011 Lakeside World Professional Darts Championship was the 34th World Championship organised by the British Darts Organisation, and the 26th staging at the Lakeside Country Club at Frimley Green. Martin Adams was the defending men's champ ...

, Hedman defeated

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

's Patricia De Peuter 2–1 in the quarter-finals before being whitewashed 2–0 by

Rhian Edwards Rhian O'Sullivan ( née Edwards; 20 January 1981) is a Welsh female professional darts player who plays in events of the World Darts Federation (WDF). Darts career O'Sullivan was a quarter finalist in the 2009 Women's World Masters. She qualifi ...

in the semi-finals. Hedman's best run at the BDO World Darts Championship came in 2012, where she beat Rhian Edwards and

Lorraine Farlam Lorraine Winstanley ( née Farlam, born 28 October 1975) is an English darts player who plays in both World Darts Federation (WDF) and Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. Career Winstanley won the 2011 Romanian International Darts ...

to reach the final. In the final, she led

Anastasia Dobromyslova Anastasia Petrovna Dobromyslova-Martin (russian: Анастаси́я Петро́вна Добромы́слова; born 26 September 1984) is a professional darts player. She is a three-time Women's World Professional Darts Champion of the B ...

by a set and threw for the championship, but was broken and ultimately lost 2–1. This was equalled by her 2016 run where she lost in the final to

. Despite being ranked No.1 for the 2013

BDO World Darts Championship The WDF World Darts Championship is a world championship competition in darts, organised by the World Darts Federation. It would previously organised by the British Darts Organisation (BDO), who held it 43 times from 1978 to 2020. The champio ...

Hedman was knocked out in the first round 0–2 by

Lisa Ashton Lisa Ashton (born 27 August 1970) is an English professional darts player who currently plays in World Darts Federation (WDF) and Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. She is a four-time BDO World Darts Women's Champion and has won over ...

. The following season, Hedman won 14 titles and once again reached the world final, but lost once again this time from 2–0 in sets and 2–1 in legs having yet again thrown for the title. Hedman eventually lost the final 3–2 to Lisa Ashton despite having a checkout percentage over 75%. Hedman reached the final of the 2016 BDO World Darts Championship but was beaten by

who won her 10th title.

PDC

She competed for a tour card at the 2020 Q-School however she failed to gain a tour card. In October 2020 the PDC held the inaugural Women's Series, a set of 4 events with 2 qualifying spots for the 2021 PDC World Darts Championship. She tied with

Fallon Sherrock Fallon Sherrock (born 2 July 1994) is an English professional darts player who plays in World Darts Federation (WDF) and Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events. Born in Milton Keynes, Sherrock reached the final of the 2015 BDO Women's Worl ...

on the Order of Merit, however Hedman won beating Sherrock 85–83 on legs won, meaning Hedman would make her debut in the 2021 PDC World Darts Championship. She would go onto lose 3–1 to

Andy Boulton Andy Boulton (born 22 February 1973) is a Scottish professional darts player who plays in events of the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC). He is nicknamed X-Factor. Career Boulton made his televised debut in the PDC UK Open in 2005 startin ...

Awards

Hedman was on the list of the BBC's 100 Women announced on 23 November 2020.

World Championship results

PDC

* 2010 (women's): Quarter-finals (lost to Fiona Carmichael 2–4) * 2021: First round (lost to

1–3)

BDO/WDF

WSDT

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

: First Round (lost to

Peter Manley Peter David Manley (born 7 March 1962) is an English former professional darts player who played in Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) events from July 1996 until 2017. He won one major title, the Las Vegas Desert Classic, in 2003, and twi ...

1–3)

Personal life

Hedman's brother

Rudi Rudi, born Albert Rudolph (January 24, 1928 – February 21, 1973), also known as Swami Rudrananda, was born in Brooklyn, New York. Rudi was a spiritual teacher and an antiquities entrepreneur in New York City.Swami Rudrananda udi ''Spiri ...

was a professional footballer playing for

Colchester United Colchester United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Colchester, Essex, England. The team competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1937, the club spent its earl ...

and

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building ...

. Her other brother, Al, was a professional darts player and former 1995 BDO British Open Champion. Her nephew

Graham Graham and Graeme may refer to: People * Graham (given name), an English-language given name * Graham (surname), an English-language surname * Graeme (surname), an English-language surname * Graham (musician) (born 1979), Burmese singer * Clan ...

is a 400-metre runner.

References

External links

Official site

Profile and stats on Darts Database
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hedman, Deta English darts players Jamaican darts players 1959 births Living people People from Witham People from Kingston, Jamaica English people of Jamaican descent British Darts Organisation players Professional Darts Corporation associate players Professional Darts Corporation women's players BBC 100 Women