Ellie Downie
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Elissa Rebecca "Ellie" Downie (born 20 July 1999) is a retired artistic gymnast who has represented
Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...
. She is the all-around 2017 European gymnastics champion, the first gymnast to win a major all-around title for Great Britain. The younger sister of triple European champion
Becky Downie Rebecca Lauren Downie (born 24 January 1992 in Nottingham) is a British artistic gymnast who competed at the 2008, 2016, and 2024 Summer Olympics. She is a double European champion (2014 and 2016) and 2014 Commonwealth Games champion on the ...
, Downie first came to prominence as an outstanding junior gymnast at the
2014 Summer Youth Olympics The 2014 Summer Youth Olympics (), officially known as the II Summer Youth Olympic Games , and commonly known as Nanjing 2014 ( zh, c=南京2014, p=Nánjīng Èr Líng yī sì), were the second Youth Olympic Games, Summer Youth Olympic Games, an ...
, winning four medals. At the age of 15, she became the first British woman to win an individual all-around medal at the
European Artistic Gymnastics Championships European Artistic Gymnastics Championships part of European Gymnastics Championships may refer to: * European Men's Artistic Gymnastics Championships * European Women's Artistic Gymnastics Championships * European Men's and Women's Artistic Gymnasti ...
, with a bronze in 2015. Later that year, she was part of the team that won Britain's first global team medal, a bronze, at the
2015 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships The 2015 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships was the 46th edition of the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships. The competition was held from 23 October – 1 November 2015 at The SSE Hydro in Glasgow, United Kingdom, and is the first time ...
. At the 2017 European Championships, she made history again by becoming the first British gymnast to win the all-around at a major international competition. On 23 January 2023, Downie announced her retirement from the sport.


Junior career

Downie competed at the 2014 European Championships in
Sofia, Bulgaria Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...
, and won a gold medal on vault, a silver medal with the British team and a bronze medal in the all-around. Based on this performance, she was selected to compete at the
2014 Summer Youth Olympics The 2014 Summer Youth Olympics (), officially known as the II Summer Youth Olympic Games , and commonly known as Nanjing 2014 ( zh, c=南京2014, p=Nánjīng Èr Líng yī sì), were the second Youth Olympic Games, Summer Youth Olympic Games, an ...
in
Nanjing, China Nanjing or Nanking is the capital of Jiangsu, a province in East China. The city, which is located in the southwestern corner of the province, has 11 districts, an administrative area of , and a population of 9,423,400. Situated in the Yang ...
. There, she earned four medals: a silver on vault behind Wang Yan and bronzes in the all-around,
balance beam The balance beam is a rectangular artistic gymnastics apparatus and an event performed using the apparatus. The apparatus and the event are sometimes simply called "beam". The English abbreviation for the event in gymnastics scoring is BB. The bal ...
and floor exercise.


Senior career


2015

Downie made her senior debut at the 2015 British Championships. She won silver on vault and
uneven bars The uneven bars or asymmetric bars is an artistic gymnastics apparatus. It is made of a steel frame. The bars are made of fiberglass with wood coating, or less commonly wood. The English abbreviation for the event in gymnastics scoring is UB or ...
and bronze in the all-around competition, and was named to the British team for the 2015 European Championships along with her sister,
Becky Downie Rebecca Lauren Downie (born 24 January 1992 in Nottingham) is a British artistic gymnast who competed at the 2008, 2016, and 2024 Summer Olympics. She is a double European champion (2014 and 2016) and 2014 Commonwealth Games champion on the ...
. She performed well in qualifications at the European Championships, qualifying for the individual all-around, vault and uneven bars finals. On 17 April, she competed in the all-around final and placed third, behind Giulia Steingruber of Switzerland and
Maria Kharenkova Maria Aleksandrovna Kharenkova (; born 29 October 1998) is a retired Russian-Georgian artistic gymnast. She is the 2014 European champion on the balance beam. Gymnastics career 2011 In April, Kharenkova competed at the Russian Championships i ...
of Russia, with a score of 56.623, winning the first ever individual all-around medal for a British female gymnast at the European Championships. Downie was the
Sky Sports Sky Sports is a group of British broadcasting of sports events, subscription sports channels operated by the satellite television, satellite pay television company Sky Group (a division of Comcast), and is the dominant subscription television ...
Sportswoman of the Month for April 2015. On 20 December, she was named the
BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year The BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year award is presented at the annual BBC Sports Personality of the Year award ceremony. It is awarded to the sportsperson aged 17 or under as of 1 January of that year, who has made the most outstanding co ...
.


2016

In May 2016, Downie won all four individual event titles at the FIG World Cup event in Osijek, Croatia, becoming the first gymnast to accomplish this feat at a World Cup competition since
Ludmilla Tourischeva Ludmilla Ivanovna Tourischeva ( Russian: Людми́ла Ива́новна Тури́щева; also transliterated as Ludmilla Turischeva, Ludmilla Tourischcheva, and Ljudmila Turichtchieva, born 7 October 1952) is a former Russian gymnast, U ...
in 1975. The following month, at the 2016 European Championships in
Bern, Switzerland Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...
, she won silver medals with the team and on vault and floor exercise. In July, she was named to the British team for the
2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...
in
Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...
, along with Becky Downie, Claudia Fragapane, Ruby Harrold and Amy Tinkler.


Olympic Games

In qualifications at the Olympics, Downie landed on her head during a tumbling pass on floor and was unable to finish her routine. However, she returned in the next rotation, performing two vaults, and qualified to the all-around final in 20th place. She improved on that performance in the final, finishing 13th, and the British women finished fifth in the team competition.


2017

In April Downie represented Great Britain at the
European Championships A European Championship is the top level international sports competition between European athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. In the plural, the European Championships also refers t ...
in
Cluj-Napoca Cluj-Napoca ( ; ), or simply Cluj ( , ), is a city in northwestern Romania. It is the second-most populous city in the country and the seat of Cluj County. Geographically, it is roughly equidistant from Bucharest (), Budapest () and Belgrade ( ...
, Romania, where she made history by qualifying for all five individual finals. The next day, she became the first British gymnast to win the all-around title at a major international competition, beating Hungary's Zsófia Kovács and France's
Mélanie de Jesus dos Santos Mélanie Johanna de Jesus dos Santos (born 5 March 2000) is a French artistic gymnast. She was a member of the bronze medal-winning team at the 2023 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships, 2023 World Championships. She is the 2019 European Arti ...
. She also won silver medals on vault and floor exercise, and won the bronze medal on the uneven bars. At the beginning of August she underwent surgery on her ankle due to an injury she had dealt with at both the British Championships and European Championships that year. Due to the surgery Downie was unable to compete at the 2017 World Championships.


2018

While Downie had intended to compete at the
2018 Commonwealth Games The 2018 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXI Commonwealth Games and also known as Gold Coast 2018, were an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth that was held on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, bet ...
, her ankle was still causing her issues despite the surgery she had undergone previously and she did not compete for a majority of the year. On 27 September Downie was named to the team to compete at the
World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...
in
Doha Doha ( ) is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor (city), Al Khor and Lusail, it is home to most of the country's population. It ...
,
Qatar Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country in West Asia. It occupies the Geography of Qatar, Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it shares Qatar–Saudi Arabia border, its sole land b ...
alongside
Becky Downie Rebecca Lauren Downie (born 24 January 1992 in Nottingham) is a British artistic gymnast who competed at the 2008, 2016, and 2024 Summer Olympics. She is a double European champion (2014 and 2016) and 2014 Commonwealth Games champion on the ...
,
Alice Kinsella Alice Nicole Kinsella (born 13 March 2001) is an English artistic gymnast and member of the British national team. She represented Great Britain at the 2020 Summer Olympics, winning a bronze medal in the team event. Kinsella was also part of ...
,
Georgia-Mae Fenton Georgia-Mae Fenton (born 2 November 2000) is an English artistic gymnast and a member of both the British national gymnastics team and the England Commonwealth Games gymnastics squad. She is the 2018 and 2022 Commonwealth champion on uneven b ...
, and
Kelly Simm Kelly Jay Simm (born 23 April 1995) is an English artistic gymnast. She is the 2015 Summer Universiade all-around champion, vault silver medalist, and floor bronze medalist. She represented England at the 2014 Commonwealth Games and won a g ...
. The team finished ninth in qualifications and did not advance to the team final. Individually Downie qualified to the all-around final where she finished 11th.


2019

Downie was selected to compete at the 2019 European Championships alongside
Amelie Morgan Amelie Morgan (born 31 May 2003) is a British artistic gymnast. She represented Great Britain at the 2020 Summer Olympics and won a bronze medal in the team event. She is the 2021 European Championships bronze medallist on the uneven bars. A ...
,
Alice Kinsella Alice Nicole Kinsella (born 13 March 2001) is an English artistic gymnast and member of the British national team. She represented Great Britain at the 2020 Summer Olympics, winning a bronze medal in the team event. Kinsella was also part of ...
, and
Kelly Simm Kelly Jay Simm (born 23 April 1995) is an English artistic gymnast. She is the 2015 Summer Universiade all-around champion, vault silver medalist, and floor bronze medalist. She represented England at the 2014 Commonwealth Games and won a g ...
. She competed at the British Championships where she placed first in the all-around, on vault, and on floor exercise. She later competed at the Birmingham World Cup where she placed seventh after falling off the balance beam and uneven bars. At the European Championships Downie qualified to the all-around final in fourth place and to the vault final in first. In the all-around final Downie finished second behind
Mélanie de Jesus dos Santos Mélanie Johanna de Jesus dos Santos (born 5 March 2000) is a French artistic gymnast. She was a member of the bronze medal-winning team at the 2023 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships, 2023 World Championships. She is the 2019 European Arti ...
of France. She won bronze in the vault final behind 2015 vault champion
Maria Paseka Maria Valeryevna Paseka (; born 19 July 1995) is a Russian Artistic gymnastics, artistic gymnast and member of the Russia women's national gymnastics team. During her decade-long career, she has primarily been successful as a vault specialist. O ...
and 2017 vault champion Coline Devillard. In September Downie was named to the team to compete at the 2019 World Championships in
Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...
alongside
Alice Kinsella Alice Nicole Kinsella (born 13 March 2001) is an English artistic gymnast and member of the British national team. She represented Great Britain at the 2020 Summer Olympics, winning a bronze medal in the team event. Kinsella was also part of ...
,
Becky Downie Rebecca Lauren Downie (born 24 January 1992 in Nottingham) is a British artistic gymnast who competed at the 2008, 2016, and 2024 Summer Olympics. She is a double European champion (2014 and 2016) and 2014 Commonwealth Games champion on the ...
, Taeja James, and
Georgia-Mae Fenton Georgia-Mae Fenton (born 2 November 2000) is an English artistic gymnast and a member of both the British national gymnastics team and the England Commonwealth Games gymnastics squad. She is the 2018 and 2022 Commonwealth champion on uneven b ...
. During qualifications Downie helped Great Britain place seventh, earning a spot in the team final and qualifying a team for Great Britain to the
2020 Olympic Games The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...
in
Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...
. Individually Downie qualified for the vault final. During the team final she contributed scores on vault and uneven bars towards Great Britain's sixth place finish. In the vault final Downie performed a Double-Twisting
Yurchenko Yurchenko is a Ukrainian patronymic surname that comes from the name Yuriy (George). It may refer to: * David Yurchenko (born 1986), Russian-Armenian footballer * Denys Yurchenko (born 1978), Ukrainian pole vaulter * Ihor Yurchenko (born 1960), ...
and a Cheng, earning an average score of 14.816 and winning the bronze medal behind Americans
Simone Biles Simone Arianne Biles Owens ( Biles; born March 14, 1997) is an American Artistic gymnastics, artistic gymnast. Her 11 Olympic medals and 30 World Championship medals make her the most decorated gymnast in history. She is widely regarded as one ...
and
Jade Carey Jade Ashtyn Carey (born May 27, 2000) is an American artistic gymnast. She represented the United States at the 2020 Summer Olympics as an individual, and at the 2024 Summer Olympics as a member of the U.S. women's team, nicknamed the "Golden Girl ...
. This was Downie's first individual
World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...
medal. Later that day Downie's sister Becky won her first individual World Championships medal, a silver medal on the uneven bars.


2020

In early February it was announced that Downie was selected to represent Great Britain at the Birmingham World Cup taking place in late March. However the Birmingham World Cup was later canceled due to the
COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom The COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom is a part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). In the United Kingdom, it has resulted in confirm ...
.


2021

In May, British Gymnastics announced that Downie would be taking some time away from gymnastics to be with her family following the sudden death of her 24-year-old brother Joshua on the eve of the final Olympic trial, thus ending her Tokyo 2020 Olympic bid.


Controversy

In 2021, both of the Downie sisters spoke out concerning the pressures placed onto competitiors, including over-training when injured and weight-shaming. In 2023 interviews, Ellie stated she had quit to focus on her "mental health and happiness", and also to coach junior athletes.


Personal life

Ellie is the sister of 2008 and 2016 Olympian
Becky Downie Rebecca Lauren Downie (born 24 January 1992 in Nottingham) is a British artistic gymnast who competed at the 2008, 2016, and 2024 Summer Olympics. She is a double European champion (2014 and 2016) and 2014 Commonwealth Games champion on the ...
. She attended the
Rushcliffe School Rushcliffe Spencer Academy (formerly Rushcliffe School) is a secondary school with academy status in the Rushcliffe district of Nottinghamshire and is situated on ''Boundary Road'' in West Bridgford, the administrative centre of the Borough of ...
in
Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...
until the summer of 2015.


Honours

In April 2022, she and sister Becky received
honorary degrees An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...
in sport from
Nottingham Trent University Nottingham Trent University (NTU) is a public research university located in Nottingham, England. Its origins date back to 1843 with the establishment of the Nottingham School of Design, Nottingham Government School of Design, which still opera ...
. Ellie and Becky Downie were both appointed
Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...
(MBE) in the
2024 New Year Honours The 2024 New Year Honours are appointments by some of the 15 Commonwealth realms to Orders and decorations of the Commonwealth realms, various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Hono ...
for services to gymnasts and the sport of gymnastics, which they received together from
Princess Anne Anne, Princess Royal (Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise; born 15 August 1950) is a member of the British royal family. She is the second child and only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and the only sister of King ...
at
Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a List of British royal residences, royal residence at Windsor, Berkshire, Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, about west of central London. It is strongly associated with the Kingdom of England, English and succee ...
in early March.Gymnasts Becky and Ellie Downie honoured with MBEs at Windsor Castle
''
BBC Sport BBC Sport is the sports division of the BBC, providing national sports coverage for BBC BBC Television, television, BBC Radio, radio and BBC Online, online. The BBC holds the television and radio UK broadcasting rights to several sports, broadc ...
'', 7 March 2024. Retrieved 22 March 2024


Competitive history


Notes


References


External links


Official website
* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Downie, Ellie 1999 births Living people British female artistic gymnasts English female artistic gymnasts Olympic gymnasts for Great Britain Gymnasts at the 2014 Summer Youth Olympics Gymnasts at the 2016 Summer Olympics Medalists at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships European champions in gymnastics Gymnasts from Nottingham People associated with Nottingham Trent University Members of the Order of the British Empire 21st-century English sportswomen