Edward Robin Upcott (born 29 December 1991)
is a five times British
acrobatic gymnast
Acrobatic gymnastics is a competitive gymnastic discipline where partnerships of gymnasts work together and perform figures consisting of acrobatic moves, dance and tumbling, set to music. There are three types of routines; a 'balance' routine ...
champion
who was world men's pairs champion in partnership with
Doug Fordyce, winning the gold medal in July 2010 in Poland.
Before his partnership with Fordyce, Upcott was in partnership with
Mark Fyson
Mark Fyson (born 21 August 1981) is a British former acrobatic gymnast.
Fyson won the bronze medal in the men's pairs discipline at the World Games in 2005, and a further bronze at the European Acrobatic Gymmnastics Championships, both in part ...
, who retired in 2009 after the pair had won the bronze medal in the
2008 world championships in Glasgow.
With his new partner
Adam McAssey
Adam McAssey (born 18 April 1989) is a British acrobatic gymnast who won the title of world men's fours champion with Adam Buckingham, Alex Uttley and Jonathan Stranks in July 2010 in Poland. With partner Edward Upcott, McAssey achieved silve ...
, Upcott was awarded the silver medal in the
2012 Acrobatic Gymnastics World Championships.
Upcott came to UK national public attention with his membership of the gymnastic group
Spelbound, who rose to fame in 2010, winning
the fourth series of ''
Britain's Got Talent''. Part of their performance was a spectacular throw of Upcott over the heads of the judges, catching him in the main performance area.
The prize was £100,000 and the opportunity to appear at the 2010
Royal Variety Performance
The ''Royal Variety Performance'' is a televised variety show held annually in the United Kingdom to raise money for the Royal Variety Charity (of which King Charles III is life-patron). It is attended by senior members of the British royal f ...
.
With Spelbound, Upcott holds the world record for 'Highest throw and catch of a person', where he was the person thrown and caught. The successful record attempt was televised on the UK children's TV show ''
Blue Peter
''Blue Peter'' is a British children's television entertainment programme created by John Hunter Blair. It is the longest-running children's TV show in the world, having been broadcast since October 1958. It was broadcast primarily from BBC Tel ...
''.
Upcott left Spelbound in 2012 to pursue other avenues.
While still a member, he was cast as a
stunt double for
Asa Butterfield in ''
Hugo''.
He works with Doug Fordyce as ''Brothers of Eden''.
His stated ambition is to be part of
Cirque du Soleil.
Personal life
Upcott was educated at
The Magna Carta School in
Surrey
Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...
.
A long-term
asthmatic, Upcott has learned how to control this such that it has no impact on his sporting endeavours.
His official biography states that, as a child, he nearly died during his first asthma attack.
His younger siblings,
Alice
Alice may refer to:
* Alice (name), most often a feminine given name, but also used as a surname
Literature
* Alice (''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland''), a character in books by Lewis Carroll
* ''Alice'' series, children's and teen books by ...
and
Adam
Adam; el, Ἀδάμ, Adám; la, Adam is the name given in Genesis 1-5 to the first human. Beyond its use as the name of the first man, ''adam'' is also used in the Bible as a pronoun, individually as "a human" and in a collective sense as " ...
are also acrobatic gymnasts.
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Upcott, Edward
British acrobatic gymnasts
Male acrobatic gymnasts
1991 births
People from Surrey
British stunt performers
Britain's Got Talent contestants
Living people
People educated at The Magna Carta School
Medalists at the Acrobatic Gymnastics World Championships
Sportspeople from Chertsey
Competitors at the 2009 World Games
World Games bronze medalists
21st-century British people