Jacquie Beltrao (born Jacqueline Leavy on 21 April 1965 in Dublin) is a

sports presenter In sports broadcasting, a sports commentator (also known as sports announcer or sportscaster) provides a real-time commentary of a game or event, usually during a live broadcast, traditionally delivered in the historical present tense. Radio was ...

on Sky News and a former Olympic

gymnast Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. The movements involved in gymnastics contribute to the development of the arms, legs, sh ...

Early life and career

Born in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, she grew up in

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a city in the West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its city status until the Middle Ages. The city is governed b ...

, England. She studied sports science at

Birmingham University , mottoeng = Through efforts to heights , established = 1825 – Birmingham School of Medicine and Surgery1836 – Birmingham Royal School of Medicine and Surgery1843 – Queen's College1875 – Mason Science College1898 – Mason Univers ...

, and represented Great Britain in rhythmic gymnastics at the

1984 Olympic Games The 1984 Olympics may refer to: *The 1984 Winter Olympics, which were held in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia *The 1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an intern ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

, placing 31st in the All-Around. She joined Sky News in 1992, where she first worked as a publicist before later becoming a sports reporter and presenter. She now presents updates on weekends (Friday to Sunday ) during ''

Sunrise Sunrise (or sunup) is the moment when the upper rim of the Sun appears on the horizon in the morning. The term can also refer to the entire process of the solar disk crossing the horizon and its accompanying atmospheric effects. Terminology A ...

'' and for the first hour of the following programme.

Personal life

She is a supporter of Arsenal and of

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...

and the Republic of Ireland national football team. She also has a strong passion for tennis and has done many news reports on the sport for Sky News and

Sky Sports News Sky Sports News (SSN) is a British paid television sports news channel run by Sky, a division of Comcast. History Since 1992, Sky Sports had broadcast sports news, initially a brief ''Football Update'' and later this was expanded into a ...

. She lives with her husband Eduardo Beltrao and three children in South West London. The family also own a holiday home in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The family have three rescue dogs, after she appeared on Sky News representing

Dogs Trust Dogs Trust, known until 2003 as the National Canine Defence League, is a British animal welfare charity and humane society which specialises in the well-being of dogs. It is the largest dog welfare charity in the United Kingdom, caring for ov ...

. On 31 December 2013, Beltrao announced she was diagnosed with breast cancer on Christmas Eve. On 26 June 2020, Beltrao announced on social media her breast cancer had returned and consequently had time away from presenting Sky Sports.

References

External links

*
California Dreaming
Sky News, 19 August 2008 (Retrieved on 20 August 2008) 1965 births Living people Sportspeople from County Dublin Sportspeople from Coventry Alumni of the University of Birmingham British rhythmic gymnasts Olympic gymnasts for Great Britain Gymnasts at the 1984 Summer Olympics Sky Sports presenters and reporters British women television journalists Sky News newsreaders and journalists Irish gymnasts {{UK-tv-journalist-stub