Beth Tweddle

Elizabeth Tweddle
MBE
Tweddle in March 2012
Personal information
Full nameElizabeth Kimberly Tweddle
Country represented Great Britain
 England
Born (1985-04-01) 1 April 1985 (age 39)
Johannesburg, South Africa
HometownBunbury, Cheshire, United Kingdom
Height160 cm (5 ft 3 in)[1]
DisciplineWomen's artistic gymnastics
LevelSenior International Elite
Years on national team1994–2013 (GBR)[2]
ClubCity of Liverpool
Head coach(es)Amanda Reddin
Assistant coach(es)Zoltan Jordanov
ChoreographerCorina Morosan, Adriana Pop
Eponymous skillsTweddle: sole circle backward with counter straddle hecht with 1/2 turn on high bar in mixed L-grip
Retired6 August 2013
Medal record
Event 1st 2nd 3rd
Olympic Games 0 0 1
World Championships 3 0 2
European Championships 6 4 1
World Cup Final 1 2 0
Summer Universiade 3 0 2
Commonwealth Games 1 2 0
Total 14 8 6
Representing  Great Britain
Olympic Games
Bronze medal – third place 2012 London Uneven Bars
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2006 Aarhus Uneven Bars
Gold medal – first place 2009 London Floor Exercise
Gold medal – first place 2010 Rotterdam Uneven Bars
Bronze medal – third place 2003 Anaheim Uneven Bars
Bronze medal – third place 2005 Melbourne Uneven Bars
World Cup Final
Gold medal – first place 2006 São Paulo Uneven Bars
Silver medal – second place 2004 Birmingham Uneven Bars
Silver medal – second place 2006 São Paulo Floor Exercise
European Championships
Gold medal – first place 2006 Volos Uneven Bars
Gold medal – first place 2009 Milan Uneven Bars
Gold medal – first place 2009 Milan Floor Exercise
Gold medal – first place 2010 Birmingham Uneven Bars
Gold medal – first place 2010 Birmingham Floor Exercise
Gold medal – first place 2011 Berlin Uneven Bars
Silver medal – second place 2004 Amsterdam Uneven Bars
Silver medal – second place 2007 Amsterdam Floor Exercise
Silver medal – second place 2008 Clermont Floor Exercise
Silver medal – second place 2010 Birmingham Team
Bronze medal – third place 2002 Patras Uneven Bars
Summer Universiade
Gold medal – first place 2005 İzmir Uneven Bars
Gold medal – first place 2009 Belgrade Uneven Bars
Gold medal – first place 2009 Belgrade Floor Exercise
Bronze medal – third place 2005 İzmir All-Around
Bronze medal – third place 2005 İzmir Balance Beam
Representing  England
Commonwealth Games
Gold medal – first place 2002 Manchester Uneven Bars
Silver medal – second place 2002 Manchester Team
Silver medal – second place 2002 Manchester All-Around

Elizabeth Kimberly Tweddle MBE (born 1 April 1985) is a retired English 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 Championships, and Olympic Games. Tweddle, known for her consistency and longevity as an elite gymnast, is regarded as a pioneer of the renaissance of British gymnastics at the beginning of the twenty-first century that saw the country's gymnastics programme progress from 'also ran' to consistent global competitiveness, and along with peers such as Vanessa Ferrari of Italy and Isabelle Severino of France, helped begin a period of significant success for western European gymnasts globally.[3][4]

Tweddle represented Great Britain at three Olympic Games. She is the 2012 Olympic bronze medalist on uneven bars, the 2006 and 2010 World Champion on the uneven bars, the 2009 World Champion on floor exercise, a four-time European Champion on the uneven bars, and a two-time European Champion on the floor exercise. She is a Commonwealth Games gold medalist, and a three-time champion in the Universiade.

Tweddle retired in August 2013.[5] Following retirement, Tweddle took on a variety of media and sporting work. On 10 March 2013, she won the eighth series of Dancing on Ice along with Daniel Whiston, who won the show for the third time. In 2014, she took part in the ninth and (at the time) last series of Dancing on Ice, the "All-Stars" series, with her new skating partner Łukasz Różycki, making the final and coming third.

In 2016, Tweddle participated in the third series of Channel 4 reality contest show The Jump.[6] However, on 7 February, two weeks into the show, Tweddle suffered a back injury and withdrew. It was reported on 8 February 2016 that she had undergone successful surgery to fuse two vertebrae.[7] As of 2023, she remains a regular analyst on her sport for the BBC and Eurosport.

  1. ^ "Elizabeth Tweddle". British Olympic Association. Archived from the original on 3 April 2015. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  2. ^ "Timeline of Beth Tweddle's career as a gymnast". ITV. 6 August 2013.
  3. ^ "Pioneer spirit keeps Beth Tweddle fighting for first until 2012 | Anna Kessel". the Guardian. 7 December 2009. Retrieved 16 October 2021.
  4. ^ Davis, Mike (15 December 2020). "Beth Tweddle: The Most Under-Rated Gymnast of the Last 50 Years". An Old School Gymnastics Blog. Retrieved 16 October 2021.
  5. ^ "Olympic medallist Beth Tweddle announces retirement". BBC Sport. 6 August 2013. Archived from the original on 6 August 2013. Retrieved 6 August 2013.
  6. ^ "The Jump 2016: Get the FULL lineup of brave celebs here". Digital Spy. 16 January 2016. Archived from the original on 19 November 2017. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
  7. ^ "Beth Tweddle airlifted to hospital after accident on The Jump". Independent.co.uk. 7 February 2016. Archived from the original on 6 March 2018. Retrieved 19 September 2017.