Gemma Howell (born 13 June 1990) is a British retired judoka from Stafford, England, who competed at the Olympic Games.

Judo career

Howell came to prominence after winning the lightweight division at the British Judo Championships in 2006. As well as successfully defending the title in 2007 and 2008, she won medals at the 2008 World Junior and European Junior Championships. In 2010, she won a medal at the European U23 Championships before winning a fourth British title in 2011. In 2012, Howell was selected to represent

Great Britain at the 2012 Summer Olympics Great Britain and Northern Ireland, represented by the British Olympic Association (BOA), competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom, from 27 July to 12 August 2012 as the host nation and the team of selected athletes was o ...

in London. She competed in the Women's 63 kg, but was defeated in the first round. The following year she won her fifth and last British Championship, this time at the heavier weight of half-middleweight. In 2014, Howell took three medals at the Heart of England Championships, the Zagreb Grand Prix and the European Open 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 ...

. She also represented

Great Britain at the 2020 Summer Olympics Great Britain, or in full Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the team of the British Olympic Association (BOA), which represents the United Kingdom, competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Originally scheduled to take place from 24 July t ...

in Tokyo, Japan, competing in the women's 70 kg event. In May 2019, Howell was selected to compete at the

2019 European Games , translation: Time for bright victories! , nations participating = 50 , athletes participating = 4,082 , events = 200 in 15 sports , opening ceremony = 21 June , closing ceremony = 30 June , officially opened ...

Minsk Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the admi ...

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by ...

. She won the silver medal in her event at the

2022 Judo Grand Slam Tel Aviv The 2022 Judo Grand Slam Tel Aviv was held in Tel Aviv, Israel, from 17 to 19 February 2022. Event videos The event will air freely on the IJF YouTube channel. Medal summary Medal table Men's events Women's events Prize money The sum ...

held in Tel Aviv, Israel. In 2022, Howell achieved her best success to date after winning the gold medal at the

2022 European Judo Championships The 2022 European Judo Championships was held in Sofia, Bulgaria, from 29 April to 1 May 2022. Event videos The event will air freely on the IJF YouTube channel. Medal summary Medal table Men's events Women's events Participating ...

in Sofia. Competing in the women's 63 kg she defeated Laura Fazliu in the final. Following this major success she then went on to win a silver medal in the 63 kg category at the

2022 Commonwealth Games The 2022 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Birmingham 2022, was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations that took place in Birmingham, England bet ...

in Birmingham. In December 2023, she announced her retirement after a very successful career that also included eleven surgeries for injuries.

References

External links

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Gemma Howell
at the

British Judo Association The British Judo Association (BJA) is the governing body for the Olympic Sport of Judo in the United Kingdom. In 2019 there were 35,000 members. The BJA represents the United Kingdom internationally and is a member of the International Judo F ...

(archived) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Howell, Gemma English female judoka Living people Olympic judoka for Great Britain Judoka at the 2012 Summer Olympics 1990 births European Games competitors for Great Britain Judoka at the 2015 European Games Judoka at the 2019 European Games Judoka at the 2020 Summer Olympics Judoka at the 2022 Commonwealth Games Medallists at the 2022 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games silver medallists for England Commonwealth Games medallists in judo