Imogen Jayne Cairns (born 26 January 1989) is a British former
artistic gymnast who competed at the
2008
File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
and
2012 Summer Olympics. Representing England, Cairns was a three-time Commonwealth Games champion in vault, twice, and in floor exercise.
Senior career
2006
In March, Cairns competed for
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
at the
2006 Commonwealth Games in
Melbourne, Australia. She contributed an all-around score of 54.800 towards the English team's second-place finish and won the
vault
Vault may refer to:
* Jumping, the act of propelling oneself upwards
Architecture
* Vault (architecture), an arched form above an enclosed space
* Bank vault, a reinforced room or compartment where valuables are stored
* Burial vault (enclosure ...
final with a score of 14.325. The next month, she competed at the
European Women's Artistic Gymnastics Championships
The European Women's Gymnastics Championships are an artistic championships for female gymnasts from European countries organised by the European Union of Gymnastics. They are held annually, though rotate between two different formats.
History ...
in
Volos, Greece. The British team placed seventh, and Cairns placed eighth on vault with a score of 13.850.
At the British Championships in
Guildford, England
Guildford ()
is a town in west Surrey, around southwest of central London. As of the 2011 census, the town has a population of about 77,000 and is the seat of the wider Guildford (borough), Borough of Guildford, which had around inhabitants i ...
, in July, Cairns placed fourth in the all-around with a score of 54.900. In event finals, she placed second on vault, scoring 13.450; third on
uneven bars
The uneven bars or asymmetric bars is an artistic gymnastics apparatus. It is made of a steel frame. The bars are made of fiberglass with wood coating, or less commonly wood. The English abbreviation for the event in gymnastics scoring is UB or ...
, scoring 13.500; fourth on
balance beam
The balance beam is a rectangular artistic gymnastics apparatus and an event performed using the apparatus. Both the apparatus and the event are sometimes simply referred to as "beam". The English abbreviation for the event in gymnastics scoring i ...
, scoring 14.100; and second on
floor exercise
In gymnastics, the floor is a specially prepared exercise surface, which is considered an apparatus. It is used by both male and female gymnasts. The gymnastics event performed on the floor is called floor exercise. The English abbreviation for t ...
, scoring 14.250.
In November, Cairns placed fifth on vault at the
Artistic Gymnastics World Cup
The Artistic Gymnastics World Cup is a competition series for artistic gymnastics sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG). It is one of the few tournaments in artistic gymnastics officially organized by FIG, as well as ...
event in
Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
with a score of 14.012. In December, she placed seventh on vault, scoring 14.037, at the World Cup event in
São Paulo, Brazil
SAO or Sao may refer to:
Places
* Sao civilisation, in Middle Africa from 6th century BC to 16th century AD
* Sao, a town in Boussé Department, Burkina Faso
* Saco Transportation Center (station code SAO), a train station in Saco, Maine, U.S. ...
.
2007
Cairns broke her wrist in April 2007 and was in a cast for twelve weeks. After recovering from that injury, she broke her ankle. Her coach, Liz Kincaid, said, "Imogen was vaulting with a wrist support on and noticed during her hurdle step that the support had come undone. She tried to pull up and crashed into the vault and broke her ankle." These injuries caused Cairns to miss the
2007 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships
The 40th World Artistic Gymnastics Championships were held at the Hanns-Martin-Schleyer-Halle
Hanns-Martin-Schleyer-Halle (sometimes shortened to Schleyer-Halle) is an indoor arena located in Stuttgart, Germany. The capacity of the arena is nea ...
.
2008
In April, Cairns placed fifth on vault at the World Cup event in
Maribor, Slovenia
Maribor ( , , , ; also known by other historical names) is the second-largest city in Slovenia and the largest city of the traditional region of Lower Styria. It is also the seat of the City Municipality of Maribor, the seat of the Drava stat ...
, with a score of 13.775. After the event, she said, "I know internationally most people thought I had retired. Sorry, got me for a little while longer! Even in Great Britain, people thought I had finished. I find it hilarious."
At the British Championships in Guildford in June, Cairns placed fourth in the all-around with a score of 55.650. In event finals, she placed first on vault, scoring 14.200; second on balance beam, scoring 14.900; and first on floor, scoring 14.550. She was named as an alternate for the
2008 Summer Olympics, and made the team after
Laura Jones was injured.
Beijing Olympics
Having stepped in to replace Jones, Cairns competed at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing alongside teammates
Becky Downie,
Marissa King
Marissa Petra King (born 20 April 1991) is an English gymnast who represented Great Britain at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China, as well as the 2007 and 2009 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships. Marissa is the daughter of a Briti ...
,
Beth Tweddle
Elizabeth Kimberly Tweddle (born 1 April 1985) is a retired British artistic gymnast. Renowned for her uneven bar and floor routines, she was the first female gymnast from Great Britain to win a medal at the European Championships, World Cham ...
,
Hannah Whelan, and
Rebecca Wing. She helped the British team finish in ninth place and finished 33rd in the individual all-around with a score of 57.050.
After the Olympics, Cairns injured both her ankles while practising on vault. She said, "I rolled both my ankles—the bones weren't snapped, but everything else was. I was out for at least eighteen months with that injury. I had drilling of the bone, two operations on each ankle, and I couldn't walk properly for six months. Ever since, they've been good, but they will never be great. Every now and then they are too painful and I can't train. I have to have injections to numb my ankles, and I've been told I'll have arthritis in them by the time I'm 30."
2009
Cairns decided to return to training in 2009. She said, "I thought about quitting because I was out for so long. I put on a bit of weight and got my social life back and I thought, 'This is it.' But when your whole life has been gymnastics, you do miss it. I thought, 'I have nothing to lose if I try to come back.' It was just pure determination. I wanted to do it."
2010
At the British Championships in Guildford in July, Cairns placed fifth in the all-around with a score of 54.550. She won the vault final, scoring 14.000, and placed fourth on balance beam (13.200) and floor (13.650). She said about her return to gymnastics, "I thought that getting to the Olympics in 2008 would satisfy me, but having battled through injury, I just have something inside me that tells me I have much more to give. Having been through the highs of the Olympics and lows of injury, I can honestly say I now take things step by step. I learn from successes and setbacks, and put these to good use. I think I've matured, and I set myself personal goals."
At the beginning of October, Cairns competed for England at the
2010 Commonwealth Games
The 2010 Commonwealth Games (Hindi: 2010 राष्ट्रमण्डल खेल), officially known as the XIX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Delhi 2010, was an international multi-sport event that was held in Delhi, India, ...
in
Delhi, India
Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...
. She contributed an all-around score of 53.500 towards the English team's second-place finish. In the all-around final, she placed fourth with a score of 54.650. "One year ago, I didn't think I'd be able to train again," she said. "I think I was only just getting back to walking. Gymnastics just wasn't in the equation until my surgeon said that anything I did to my feet couldn't make them worse—so I decided to go for it again." In event finals, Cairns placed first on vault, scoring 13.775; eighth on balance beam, scoring 11.950; and first on floor, scoring 14.200. After the vault final, she said, "The gold today perhaps means more this time around, having been injured in both feet after the Beijing Olympics and being off for 15 months."
Later in October, Cairns competed at the
2010 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in
Rotterdam
Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"Ne ...
. She contributed a vault score of 14.633, a balance beam score of 11.833, and a floor score of 14.033 towards the British team's seventh-place finish, and placed eighth in the vault final with a score of 13.999.
In November, Cairns won the vault final at the World Cup event in
Stuttgart, Germany
Stuttgart (; Swabian German, Swabian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fe ...
, with a score of 13.937, and placed second on vault at the World Cup event in Glasgow with a score of 13.875.
2011
At the British Teams competition in Guildford in May, Cairns contributed scores of 12.900 on vault, 11.650 on balance beam, and 12.500 on floor toward The Academy's fifth-place finish. In July, she competed at the British Championships in Liverpool, placing first on vault (13.925) and third on balance beam (13.450).
At the
2011 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Tokyo in October, she contributed a vault score of 14.133 and a floor score of 13.700 towards the British team's fifth-place finish.
2012
In May, Cairns was set to compete at the
2012 European Championships but was replaced with teammate
Ruby Harrold to allow Cairns more time to recuperate from minor injuries.
At the beginning of June, Cairns competed with gymnasts from
Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
and
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
at a friendly meet in
Ipswich
Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line ...
, which also served as the second British Olympic trial. She placed fifth in the all-around with a score of 54.350 and third on floor with a score of 13.500. Later that month, she competed at the British Championships in Liverpool, the third and final Olympic trial. She placed fourth in the all-around with a score of 55.500. In event finals, she placed seventh on balance beam, scoring 12.450, and second on floor, scoring 14.100.
At the beginning of July, Cairns was selected to represent the United Kingdom at the
2012 Summer Olympics in
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 dow ...
, along with Tweddle, Whelan,
Jennifer Pinches
Jennifer McIlveen (née Pinches) (born 25 May 1994) is a retired artistic gymnast who competed for Great Britain in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London and subsequently for the UCLA Bruins women's gymnastics team in the NCAA. In 2020, Pinches ...
and
Rebecca Tunney
Rebecca Tunney (born 26 October 1996) is a retired British artistic gymnast who competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics.
Personal information
Tunney took ballet from a young age but gave it up at five years old to focus on gymnastics. She moved t ...
.
London Olympics
At the Olympics, Cairns contributed scores of 14.266 on vault and 13.500 on balance beam towards the British team's sixth-place finish. Cairns retired from elite gymnastics soon after the 2012 Olympics.
References
External links
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* (2006)
* (2010)
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Cairns, Imogen
1989 births
Living people
Sportspeople from Bristol
British female artistic gymnasts
English female artistic gymnasts
Olympic gymnasts of Great Britain
Gymnasts at the 2008 Summer Olympics
Gymnasts at the 2012 Summer Olympics
Commonwealth Games medallists in gymnastics
Commonwealth Games gold medallists for England
Commonwealth Games silver medallists for England
Gymnasts at the 2006 Commonwealth Games
Gymnasts at the 2010 Commonwealth Games
Medallists at the 2006 Commonwealth Games
Medallists at the 2010 Commonwealth Games