Childhood & Early Life
Beth Tweddle was born as Elizabeth Kimberly Tweddle on April 1, 1985 in Johannesburg, South Africa, to Jerry and Ann Tweddle. She relocated to Bunbury, Cheshire, England, with her family when she was just 18 months.
She took up gymnastics at the age of seven, after a number of hit-and-misses at other sports, and joined the local Crewe and Nantwich Gymnastics Club.
She completed her schooling from The Queen’s School, Chester, and attended the University of Liverpool for a foundation degree. In 2007, she graduated with a sports science degree from the Liverpool John Moores University.
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Career
After competing at the local club, she went to The City of Liverpool Gymnastics Club, in 1997, to train under Amanda Reddin.
She started receiving international recognition after her participation in the 2001 World Championships in Ghent, Belgium, for her stunts on the asymmetric bars.
She won the first ever medal for Britain at the 2002 European Championships in Patras, Greece, getting a bronze medal. The same year, she clinched gold at the Manchester Commonwealth Games on uneven bars.
She continued to thrive through 2003, becoming the first female British gymnast to win at the Anaheim World Championships, taking bronze.
In 2004, she won a silver medal at the Amsterdam European Championships, on uneven bars. Soon after, she competed in the Athens Olympic Games and finished at nineteenth position.
Despite her insufficient preparation due to injuries, she took part in the 2005 World Championships in Melbourne, Australia and won a bronze in uneven bars.
Her right ankle injury forced her to withdraw out of Commonwealth Games in 2006. However, she returned back and won gold on uneven bars and silver on floors, at the World Cup final, held in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
In 2007, she claimed her seventh consecutive British Championship title and participated in the Stuttgart World Championships, helping Britain qualify for a full team at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Her participation in the 2008 Olympics, despite her ankle injury, was highly appreciated, where she secured fourth position, taking her team to ninth place.
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In 2010, she won a gold on floors and silver on uneven bars at the Paris World Cup event, apart from securing first place on uneven bars at the British Championships, held in Guildford.
Her contribution at uneven bars and floor at the Tokyo World Championships in 2011 paved way for the British team into the 2012 London Olympic Games.
In 2012, she won gold medals at the World Cup event held in Doha, Qatar, and British Championships organized in Liverpool, United Kingdom.
In March 2013, she took part and won the eighth series of ITV’s ‘Dancing on Ice’, where she was partnered with Daniel Whiston.
She retired from competitive gymnastics in August 2013, thus ending one of the greatest careers in the history of British gymnastics.
She participated in the ninth and final series of ‘Dancing on Ice’, paired opposite Lukasz Rozycki, in 2014. The couple finished third.
She started a dedicated gymnastics company, Total Gymnastics, along with former Olympian swimmer Steve Parry, as a means to inspire and encourage kids to take up gymnastics and popularize the sport across the UK.
Awards & Achievements
She won a nomination at the BBC Sports Personality of the Year, in 2006, and was placed at the third position.
In 2010, she was honored with the MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire), towards her services and success to gymnastics, at the Queen’s New Years Honours List.
She won Britain’s first gold medal at the World Championships in Aarhus, Denmark, and European Championships in Volos, Greece, on uneven bars, in 2006.
In 2009, she was successful in claiming double gold at the Milan European Championships on uneven bars and floors. This was soon followed by her first ever gold medal on floors at the London World Championships.
In 2010, she retained her bars and floor titles by winning gold at the Birmingham European Championships. Also, she was placed first in the Rotterdam World Championships, on uneven bars, thus becoming a three-time world champion.
Her injured shin didn’t deter her from competing at the Berlin European Championships, in 2011, and winning gold in the uneven bars competition.
Her created history in the 2012 Olympic by winning a bronze medal on the asymmetric bars.
