Annika Reeder
Encyclopedia
Annika Louise Reeder is a British
artistic gymnast. She was the first gymnast from Great Britain to compete in two Olympic Games
, in 1996 and 2000.
Reeder began gymnastics at the age of three in 1982, following in the footsteps of her sister Kirsty. She trained at the South Essex Gym Club under coach Rod Smith. She made her international debut at the 1993 Junior European Championships and entered the senior ranks in the following year.
In 1994 in Victoria
, Canada
Reeder became England's youngest ever Commonwealth Games gold medallist at the age of fourteen, collecting golds in the team and the floor exercise. She collected a third gold medal at the Commonwealths in 1998. Reeder was also a European floor finalist in 1994, and a vault finalist in 1998. In the 1996 European Championships in Birmingham
, Reeder finished 14th in the all-around, at the time, this ranking was the highest ever recorded for a British athlete. Reeder represented the UK at the 1994 team, 1994 individual, 1995, 1996, 1997 and 1999 World Championships. She was a two time Champion and four time silver medalist at British Nationals and the English Champion in 1996.
Great Britain did not qualify to send a full team to the 1996 Olympics, but were permitted to send two gymnasts to compete as individuals. Reeder was the higher-ranked of the two British gymnasts, placing 66th in the prelims. At the 2000 Olympics in Sydney
Australia
, Reeder captained the British women's team. The squad finished 10th, its best Olympic placement ever. Annika qualified to the all-around finals, the culmination of a lifetime's ambition. However,
her bid to compete in the all-around would be undone by the infamous vault fiasco. Prior to the all-around, unbeknownst to the athletes and coaches, the vaulting horse was set 2 inches (5 cm) too low. This completely altered gymnasts' pre and post-flight, and resulted in many crashes, falls and injuries. Reeder vaulted on the faulty apparatus and was, perhaps, the worst affected by the error. She was so injured on her vault attempts that she had to be helped off the mats and was forced to withdraw from the remainder of the competition.
Following the 1999 World Championships, the FIG (Federation of International Gymnastics) have added all the new elements into the Code of Points, and Annika has been lucky enough to achieve this honour. Only a few gymnasts have their name added to the code of points, and from this month, the uprise full turn or uprise 1½ turn will be officially named the "Reeder." The skills have a difficulty value of "D," meaning that it is very difficult.
It is interesting that Annika was the first gymnast in the world to perform this skill at the World Championships, being such a commonly used skill. Great Britain competed in the second round of qualifying, with seven teams competing before them on the bars. Four of these countries ended up placing higher than Great Britain, yet none of the gymnasts performed the "Reeder."
This is a fantastic achievement and honour for Annika, never before experienced by a British gymnast, and certainly an honour that she will never forget. Taken from
WON GOLD
Annika's first claim to fame was as a participant on the London Weekend Television
programme, "You Bet!
", hosted by Bruce Forsyth
, in 1989. Her team's challenge was to complete 150 somersaults over a vaulting-horse in 90 seconds. Reeder, and her team-mates completed 184 somersaults in the allotted time, saving the host from a forfeit.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
artistic gymnast. She was the first gymnast from Great Britain to compete in two Olympic Games
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
, in 1996 and 2000.
Reeder began gymnastics at the age of three in 1982, following in the footsteps of her sister Kirsty. She trained at the South Essex Gym Club under coach Rod Smith. She made her international debut at the 1993 Junior European Championships and entered the senior ranks in the following year.
In 1994 in Victoria
Victoria, British Columbia
Victoria is the capital city of British Columbia, Canada and is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of about 78,000 within the metropolitan area of Greater Victoria, which has a population of 360,063, the 15th most populous Canadian...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
Reeder became England's youngest ever Commonwealth Games gold medallist at the age of fourteen, collecting golds in the team and the floor exercise. She collected a third gold medal at the Commonwealths in 1998. Reeder was also a European floor finalist in 1994, and a vault finalist in 1998. In the 1996 European Championships in Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, Reeder finished 14th in the all-around, at the time, this ranking was the highest ever recorded for a British athlete. Reeder represented the UK at the 1994 team, 1994 individual, 1995, 1996, 1997 and 1999 World Championships. She was a two time Champion and four time silver medalist at British Nationals and the English Champion in 1996.
Great Britain did not qualify to send a full team to the 1996 Olympics, but were permitted to send two gymnasts to compete as individuals. Reeder was the higher-ranked of the two British gymnasts, placing 66th in the prelims. At the 2000 Olympics in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, Reeder captained the British women's team. The squad finished 10th, its best Olympic placement ever. Annika qualified to the all-around finals, the culmination of a lifetime's ambition. However,
her bid to compete in the all-around would be undone by the infamous vault fiasco. Prior to the all-around, unbeknownst to the athletes and coaches, the vaulting horse was set 2 inches (5 cm) too low. This completely altered gymnasts' pre and post-flight, and resulted in many crashes, falls and injuries. Reeder vaulted on the faulty apparatus and was, perhaps, the worst affected by the error. She was so injured on her vault attempts that she had to be helped off the mats and was forced to withdraw from the remainder of the competition.
Trivia
- Nickname: Furby
- Hometown: Loughton, Essex
- Family: Mother (Stephanie), Father (Stewart), Sister (Kirsty)
- She is currently in a long term relationship with Craig PelloweCraig PelloweNathan John Craig Pellowe is a former Great Britain international gymnast who was the 2000 Men's English Champion had to retire in 2003 due to a persistent shoulder injury.-Gymnastic career:...
(also a former international gymnast!) - Reeder" added to Code of PointsCode of Points (artistic gymnastics)A Code of Points is a rulebook that defines the scoring system for each level of competition in gymnastics. There is no unified, international code of points; every oversight organization—such as FIG , NCAA Gymnastics, and most national gymnastics federations—designs and employs its own unique Code...
- 14 February 1668
Following the 1999 World Championships, the FIG (Federation of International Gymnastics) have added all the new elements into the Code of Points, and Annika has been lucky enough to achieve this honour. Only a few gymnasts have their name added to the code of points, and from this month, the uprise full turn or uprise 1½ turn will be officially named the "Reeder." The skills have a difficulty value of "D," meaning that it is very difficult.
It is interesting that Annika was the first gymnast in the world to perform this skill at the World Championships, being such a commonly used skill. Great Britain competed in the second round of qualifying, with seven teams competing before them on the bars. Four of these countries ended up placing higher than Great Britain, yet none of the gymnasts performed the "Reeder."
This is a fantastic achievement and honour for Annika, never before experienced by a British gymnast, and certainly an honour that she will never forget. Taken from
WON GOLD
Annika's first claim to fame was as a participant on the London Weekend Television
London Weekend Television
London Weekend Television was the name of the ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties including south Suffolk, middle and east Hampshire, Oxfordshire, south Bedfordshire, south Northamptonshire, parts of Herefordshire & Worcestershire, Warwickshire, east Dorset and...
programme, "You Bet!
You Bet!
You Bet! was a British game show based around the format of the German show Wetten, dass..? developed by Frank Elstner. You Bet! ran on ITV, mostly on Saturday nights but sometimes on Fridays, between 20 February 1988 and 12 April 1997, initially hosted by Bruce Forsyth from 1988 to 1990, then by...
", hosted by Bruce Forsyth
Bruce Forsyth
Sir Bruce Joseph Forsyth-Johnson, CBE , commonly known as Bruce Forsyth, or Brucie, is an English TV personality...
, in 1989. Her team's challenge was to complete 150 somersaults over a vaulting-horse in 90 seconds. Reeder, and her team-mates completed 184 somersaults in the allotted time, saving the host from a forfeit.
External links
- official site (Archived 2009-10-25)