Gemma Jeanette Gibbons (born 6 January 1987) is a British judoka. Competing in the women's −70 kg category, she has represented England and Great Britain at Junior, U-23, 'B' and Senior level.

Early and personal life

Born in

Charlton, London Charlton is an area of southeast London, England, in the Royal Borough of Greenwich. It is east of Greenwich and west of Woolwich, on the south bank of the River Thames, southeast of Charing Cross. An ancient parish in the county of Kent, it b ...

, Gibbons began practising Judo at six years of age with the Metro Judo Club in Blackheath, London. She attended Westwood College (now

Harris Academy Falconwood Harris Academy Falconwood (formerly Westwood Secondary School and Westwood College) is a city academy in Falconwood, London, England. The school is a mixed gender school and accepts students based on various mental attributes. History In Sept ...

). Gibbons represented

Greenwich Greenwich ( , ,) is a town in south-east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is situated east-southeast of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich ...

in judo at the

London Youth Games The London Youth Games is an annual multi-sport event held in London, England. The London Youth Games offer competitive opportunities for young people aged 7 to 18 (who live or go to school in London) across approximately 30 sports every year. T ...

. She is also the 2013 patron for London Youth Games and was inducted into the

London Youth Games Hall of Fame The Balfour Beatty London Youth Games Hall of Fame was created in 2009 to recognise former London Youth Games competitors who have gone on to world class sporting careers and to celebrate the role the Games have had in their development. Since it ...

in 2012. Gemma studied at the

London Leisure College London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major se ...

, the sports, leisure and travel department of Greenwich Community College, between 2004 and 2006 on 'BTEC National Award' and 'BTEC National Certificate in Sports and Exercise Science' courses. Starting her degree in Sports Performance at the

University of Bath (Virgil, Georgics II) , mottoeng = Learn the culture proper to each after its kind , established = 1886 (Merchant Venturers Technical College) 1960 (Bristol College of Science and Technology) 1966 (Bath University of Technology) 1971 (univ ...

, Gibbons continued to practice Judo, winning a Full Blues award in 2007 from the University. In June 2013 she married Scottish judoka

Euan Burton Euan Michael Burton MBE (born 31 March 1979) is a Scottish judoka (a Judo practitioner). Biography Burton was born in Ascot, Berkshire but lives in Edinburgh, he was educated at Pencaitland Primary School, Ross High School and the Univer ...

at The Caves in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

. The couple also now reside in the city. She subsequently put her studies for a physical education teaching degree on hold, to concentrate on working towards competing at the 2016 Summer Olympics in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a ...

. Natalie Powell was selected ahead of Gibbons to represent GB at the 2016 Summer Olympics.

Career

Gibbons started training with the Metro Judo Club, and after training with UELSports at the

University of East London , mottoeng = Knowledge and the fulfilment of vows , established = 1898 – West Ham Technical Institute1952 – West Ham College of Technology1970 – North East London Polytechnic1989 – Polytechnic of East London ...

, is now a member of the British Judo Performance Institute. Gibbons won the BBC Radio London Young Sports Woman of the Year Award 2006. Shortly after graduating, she won bronze in the under-70 kg class at the 2009 World University Games.

Kate Howey Kate Louise Howey (born 31 May 1973 in Andover, Hampshire, England) is a former elite British judoka. She remains the only British woman to have won two Olympic judo medals (silver at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, and bronze at the 1992 Olympi ...

, Performance Development Squad Coach for 2012 stated that Gibbons "is one of our best medal hopes for judo" in the 2012 London Olympic and Paralympic Games. In 2012 and ranked 42nd in the world at the time, at the

2012 London Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

Gibbons won the silver medal, losing to

Kayla Harrison Kayla Jean Harrison (born July 2, 1990) is an American professional mixed martial artist and former Olympic and world champion judoka, currently signed to the Professional Fighters League (PFL). Harrison competed in the weight category in jud ...

in the -78 kg event. Television coverage of the Olympics showed footage of a teary-eyed Gibbons looking upwards and mouthing "I love you mum" after winning her semifinal match, thus guaranteeing a medal. Gibbons had lost her mother to leukaemia years earlier. The moment became an iconic image of the Games, featuring by the media in several compilations and montages connected with the event.

Achievements

References

External links

*
2012 Olympic −78 kg gold medal match: Kayla Harrison (United States) vs. Gemma Gibbons (United Kingdom)
(International Olympic Committee on YouTube) {{DEFAULTSORT:Gibbons, Gemma 1987 births Living people People from Charlton, London English female judoka Sportspeople from London Alumni of the University of East London Alumni of the University of Bath Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Olympic judoka of Great Britain Judoka at the 2012 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medallists for Great Britain Olympic medalists in judo Commonwealth Games silver medallists for England Commonwealth Games medallists in judo Universiade medalists in judo Judoka at the 2014 Commonwealth Games Universiade bronze medalists for Great Britain European Games competitors for Great Britain Judoka at the 2015 European Games Medalists at the 2009 Summer Universiade

Early and personal life

Career

Achievements

See also

References

External links