Sam Oldham
Encyclopedia
Sam Oldham is an English
competitive gymnast who represents Great Britain
in international competition. He is a triple junior European champion and won the men's horizontal bar event
at the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics
in Singapore.
, Nottinghamshire
, England
with his parents and three siblings.
Originally schooled at Rushcliffe School
, Oldham left the institution at 14 to be home-taught so he could focus on training.
Oldham first started in gymnastics at the age of seven on the recommendation of his teacher, but was also a talented footballer. Oldham played in the Notts County F.C.
Centre of Excellence as a forward until the club closed it down. Despite receiving offers from Nottingham Forest F.C.
and Derby County F.C.
, Oldham chose to focus on gymnastics. Oldham's father and grandfather were both footballers, and his younger brother currently plays in the Nottingham Forest youth setup.
Oldham is a Manchester United F.C.
fan and considers Vitaly Scherbo
to be the gymnast he would most like to compete against, for the latter's performance winning six golds at the 1992 Summer Olympics
.
Oldham's coach Paul Hall has described Oldham as having a chance of making the British team for the 2012 Summer Olympics
in London
, while Smith
has said Oldham is an "amazing talent" and British head gymnastics coach Andre Popov has predicted Oldham will "absolutely" become Olympic champion.
and moved to Huntingdon
at the age of 14 to train with the 2008 Summer Olympics
-bound gymnasts, where he lodged with the family of fellow gymnast Cameron MacKenzie. His other training partners included eventual pommel horse bronze medallist
Louis Smith
. Smith later thanked Oldham for being his training partner leading up to Beijing.
At the European Gymnastics Championships in Lausanne
, Switzerland
in 2008, where he was the youngest member of the British team, Oldham broke his wrist during his floor
routine. However, he managed to complete his routine one-handed and helped the British team to gold in the junior team event. Late in 2008, a Castle Donington
-based company agreed to sponsor Oldham up to the 2012 Summer Olympics
.
Oldham was named to the British team for the 2009 Australian Youth Olympic Festival
, where he won team gold. Later that year, he was selected to be in the British delegation to the European Youth Olympic Festival
in Tampere
, Finland
, where he won two golds in the pommel horse and parallel bars events. Oldham was named BBC East Midlands
' Junior Sports Personality of the Year in 2009 for his performances in Tampere and for sweeping all seven golds available at the English national championships.
At the 2010 European Gymnastics Championships in Birmingham
, England
, Oldham won three gold medals, becoming European junior champion in the team all-around, the horizontal bar, and the individual all-around. By winning the individual all-around, Oldham secured qualification to represent Great Britain
at the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics
in Singapore
.
In Singapore, Oldham qualified
second overall for the all-around competition
and made the finals in four other events – the floor
, pommel horse
, parallel bars
, and horizontal bar
.
Oldham was in the silver medal position in the all-around final when he suffered a fall from the horizontal bar, his final apparatus, thus finishing fifth. However, he recovered from the setback to win silver in the pommel horse event, missing out on gold by 0.25 points. Oldham subsequently followed that by winning gold in the horizontal bar event, on the same apparatus in which he had suffered his fall during the all-around competition. Despite going first out of the eight finalists, Oldham's score of 14.375 points held out throughout and was enough for gold.
After the Youth Olympics, Oldham considered trying for the 2010 Commonwealth Games
team. However, according to Oldham, this plan was shelved when he was selected to the British senior team for the 2010 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships
.
For his performances in 2010, Oldham was shortlisted for the BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year Award, and for Junior Sportsperson of the Year Award at the Nottinghamshire Sports Awards, the latter of which he won.
in Rotterdam
. He was the youngest member of the British men's team. The British team qualified for the final and finished seventh in the team all-around, although Oldham did not ultimately take part in the competition. In 2011, Oldham was included along with Samuel Hunter, Daniel Purvis
, Theo Seager
, Louis Smith
and Kristian Thomas
in the British squad travelling to Berlin, Germany for the 2011 European Men's Artistic Gymnastics Championships from 6 to 10 April, again as the youngest member of the delegation representing Great Britain. Oldham qualified as the second reserve for the parallel bars final and in fourth place for the final on the horizontal bar. He came fourth in the horizontal bar final, which was his first major senior final.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
competitive gymnast who represents Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
in international competition. He is a triple junior European champion and won the men's horizontal bar event
Gymnastics at the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics – Men's horizontal bar
These are the results of the men's horizontal bar competition, one of seven events for male competitors of the artistic gymnastics discipline contested in the gymnastics at the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics in Singapore...
at the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics
2010 Summer Youth Olympics
The 2010 Summer Youth Olympics, officially known as the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games , were an international multi-sport event for youths that took place in the city-state of Singapore from 14 to 26 August 2010, in the XXIX Olympiad. They were the inaugural Summer Youth Olympics, a major...
in Singapore.
Personal life
Sam Oldham was born on 17 February 1993 to Bob and Dawn Oldham. Oldham currently lives in KeyworthKeyworth
Keyworth is a village and civil parish in Nottinghamshire, England. It is located about 6 miles southeast of the centre of Nottingham...
, Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire is a county in the East Midlands of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
with his parents and three siblings.
Originally schooled at Rushcliffe School
Rushcliffe School
Rushcliffe School is a comprehensive school in the Rushcliffe district of Nottinghamshire and is situated on Boundary Road in West Bridgford, one of the most wealthy areas in the county.-History:...
, Oldham left the institution at 14 to be home-taught so he could focus on training.
Oldham first started in gymnastics at the age of seven on the recommendation of his teacher, but was also a talented footballer. Oldham played in the Notts County F.C.
Notts County F.C.
Notts County Football Club are an English professional football club based in Nottingham. They are the oldest of all the clubs in the world that are now professional, having been formed in 1862. They currently play in League One of The Football League, the third tier of the English football system...
Centre of Excellence as a forward until the club closed it down. Despite receiving offers from Nottingham Forest F.C.
Nottingham Forest F.C.
Nottingham Forest Football Club is an English Association Football club based in West Bridgford, Nottingham, that plays in the Football League Championship...
and Derby County F.C.
Derby County F.C.
Derby County Football Club is an English football based in Derby. the club play in the Football League Championship and is notable as being one of the twelve founder members of the Football League in 1888 and is, therefore, one of only ten clubs to have competed in every season of the English...
, Oldham chose to focus on gymnastics. Oldham's father and grandfather were both footballers, and his younger brother currently plays in the Nottingham Forest youth setup.
Oldham is a Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
fan and considers Vitaly Scherbo
Vitaly Scherbo
Vitaly Venediktovich Scherbo , born 13 January 1972 in Minsk, Byelorussian SSR, is a Belarusian and former Soviet artistic gymnast...
to be the gymnast he would most like to compete against, for the latter's performance winning six golds at the 1992 Summer Olympics
1992 Summer Olympics
The 1992 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event celebrated in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, in 1992. The International Olympic Committee voted in 1986 to separate the Summer and Winter Games, which had been held in the same...
.
Oldham's coach Paul Hall has described Oldham as having a chance of making the British team for the 2012 Summer Olympics
2012 Summer Olympics
The 2012 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the "London 2012 Olympic Games", are scheduled to take place in London, England, United Kingdom from 27 July to 12 August 2012...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, while Smith
Louis Smith (gymnast)
Louis Antoine Smith is an English artistic gymnast from Eye near Peterborough. He is a member of the Huntingdon Gymnastics club, training alongside teammate Daniel Keatings under coach, Paul Hall....
has said Oldham is an "amazing talent" and British head gymnastics coach Andre Popov has predicted Oldham will "absolutely" become Olympic champion.
Junior career
Oldham left Rushcliffe SchoolRushcliffe School
Rushcliffe School is a comprehensive school in the Rushcliffe district of Nottinghamshire and is situated on Boundary Road in West Bridgford, one of the most wealthy areas in the county.-History:...
and moved to Huntingdon
Huntingdon
Huntingdon is a market town in Cambridgeshire, England. The town was chartered by King John in 1205. It is the traditional county town of Huntingdonshire, and is currently the seat of the Huntingdonshire district council. It is known as the birthplace in 1599 of Oliver Cromwell.-History:Huntingdon...
at the age of 14 to train with the 2008 Summer Olympics
2008 Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...
-bound gymnasts, where he lodged with the family of fellow gymnast Cameron MacKenzie. His other training partners included eventual pommel horse bronze medallist
Gymnastics at the 2008 Summer Olympics – Men's pommel horse
The men's pommel horse competition at the 2008 Summer Olympics was held on August 17 at the Beijing National Indoor Stadium.The eight competitors with the highest scores in qualifying proceeded to the men's pommel horse finals...
Louis Smith
Louis Smith (gymnast)
Louis Antoine Smith is an English artistic gymnast from Eye near Peterborough. He is a member of the Huntingdon Gymnastics club, training alongside teammate Daniel Keatings under coach, Paul Hall....
. Smith later thanked Oldham for being his training partner leading up to Beijing.
At the European Gymnastics Championships in Lausanne
Lausanne
Lausanne is a city in Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland, and is the capital of the canton of Vaud. The seat of the district of Lausanne, the city is situated on the shores of Lake Geneva . It faces the French town of Évian-les-Bains, with the Jura mountains to its north-west...
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
in 2008, where he was the youngest member of the British team, Oldham broke his wrist during his floor
Floor (gymnastics)
In gymnastics, the floor refers to a specially prepared exercise surface, which is considered an apparatus. It is used by both male and female gymnasts. The event in gymnastics performed on floor is called floor exercise. The English abbreviation for the event in gymnastics scoring is FX.A spring...
routine. However, he managed to complete his routine one-handed and helped the British team to gold in the junior team event. Late in 2008, a Castle Donington
Castle Donington
Castle Donington is a village, with a population of around 7000 in the North West of Leicestershire, part of the Derby postcode area and on the edge of the National Forest. It is the closest town to East Midlands Airport.-Transport and housing:...
-based company agreed to sponsor Oldham up to the 2012 Summer Olympics
2012 Summer Olympics
The 2012 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the "London 2012 Olympic Games", are scheduled to take place in London, England, United Kingdom from 27 July to 12 August 2012...
.
Oldham was named to the British team for the 2009 Australian Youth Olympic Festival
Australian Youth Olympic Festival
The Australian Youth Olympics Festival is an international multi-sport event organised by the Australian Olympic Committee. It has been held biennially since its first successful event in 2001.-External links:*...
, where he won team gold. Later that year, he was selected to be in the British delegation to the European Youth Olympic Festival
European Youth Olympic Festival
European Youth Olympic Festival, known by its initials EYOF, is a biennial multi-sport event for youth athletes from the 48 member countries of the association of European Olympic Committees. EYOF has a summer edition, held for the first time in Brussels in 1991, and a winter edition, which began...
in Tampere
Tampere
Tampere is a city in southern Finland. It is the most populous inland city in any of the Nordic countries. The city has a population of , growing to approximately 300,000 people in the conurbation and over 340,000 in the metropolitan area. Tampere is the third most-populous municipality in...
, Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
, where he won two golds in the pommel horse and parallel bars events. Oldham was named BBC East Midlands
BBC East Midlands
BBC East Midlands is the BBC English Region covering Derbyshire, Leicestershire, south Nottinghamshire, South Kesteven and Rutland.-Television:...
' Junior Sports Personality of the Year in 2009 for his performances in Tampere and for sweeping all seven golds available at the English national championships.
At the 2010 European Gymnastics 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...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, Oldham won three gold medals, becoming European junior champion in the team all-around, the horizontal bar, and the individual all-around. By winning the individual all-around, Oldham secured qualification to represent Great Britain
Great Britain at the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics
Great Britain will participate in the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics Games in Singapore.The British squad will consist of 40 athletes competing in 16 sports: aquatics , archery, athletics, badminton, boxing, canoeing, equestrian, fencing, gymnastics, modern pentathlon, rowing, sailing, table tennis,...
at the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics
2010 Summer Youth Olympics
The 2010 Summer Youth Olympics, officially known as the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games , were an international multi-sport event for youths that took place in the city-state of Singapore from 14 to 26 August 2010, in the XXIX Olympiad. They were the inaugural Summer Youth Olympics, a major...
in Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
.
In Singapore, Oldham qualified
Gymnastics at the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics – Men's artistic qualification
Qualifications for Boy's artistic gymnastic competitions at the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics was held at the Bishan Sports Hall on August 16 2010. The results of the qualification determined the qualifiers to the finals: 18 gymnasts in the all-around final, and 8 gymnasts in each of 6 apparatus finals...
second overall for the all-around competition
Gymnastics at the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics – Men's artistic individual all-around
Junior mens' artistic individual all-around competition at the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics was held at the Bishan Sports Hall on August 18.For each competitor in the men's qualification, the scores for all six apparatus were summed to give an all-around qualification score. The top 18 competitors...
and made the finals in four other events – the floor
Gymnastics at the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics – Men's floor
These are the results of the men's floor exercise competition, one of seven events for male competitors of the artistic gymnastics discipline contested in the gymnastics at the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics in Singapore...
, pommel horse
Gymnastics at the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics – Men's pommel horse
These are the results of the men's pommel horse competition, one of seven events for male competitors of the artistic gymnastics discipline contested in the gymnastics at the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics in Singapore...
, parallel bars
Gymnastics at the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics – Men's parallel bars
These are the results of the men's parallel bars competition, one of seven events for male competitors of the artistic gymnastics discipline contested in the gymnastics at the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics in Singapore...
, and horizontal bar
Gymnastics at the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics – Men's horizontal bar
These are the results of the men's horizontal bar competition, one of seven events for male competitors of the artistic gymnastics discipline contested in the gymnastics at the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics in Singapore...
.
Oldham was in the silver medal position in the all-around final when he suffered a fall from the horizontal bar, his final apparatus, thus finishing fifth. However, he recovered from the setback to win silver in the pommel horse event, missing out on gold by 0.25 points. Oldham subsequently followed that by winning gold in the horizontal bar event, on the same apparatus in which he had suffered his fall during the all-around competition. Despite going first out of the eight finalists, Oldham's score of 14.375 points held out throughout and was enough for gold.
After the Youth Olympics, Oldham considered trying for the 2010 Commonwealth Games
2010 Commonwealth Games
The 2010 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XIX Commonwealth Games, were held in Delhi, India, from 3 to 14 October 2010. A total of 6,081 athletes from 71 Commonwealth nations and dependencies competed in 21 sports and 272 events, making it the largest Commonwealth Games till date...
team. However, according to Oldham, this plan was shelved when he was selected to the British senior team for the 2010 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships
2010 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships
The 2010 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships was held at the Ahoy Rotterdam indoor sporting arena in the Netherlands from 16 to 24 October 2010. In this year's championships, there was a total of 73 participating federations with 615 gymnasts...
.
For his performances in 2010, Oldham was shortlisted for the BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year Award, and for Junior Sportsperson of the Year Award at the Nottinghamshire Sports Awards, the latter of which he won.
Senior career
Oldham was named as Great Britain's reserve gymnast to participate at the 2010 senior world championships2010 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships
The 2010 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships was held at the Ahoy Rotterdam indoor sporting arena in the Netherlands from 16 to 24 October 2010. In this year's championships, there was a total of 73 participating federations with 615 gymnasts...
in Rotterdam
Rotterdam
Rotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre...
. He was the youngest member of the British men's team. The British team qualified for the final and finished seventh in the team all-around, although Oldham did not ultimately take part in the competition. In 2011, Oldham was included along with Samuel Hunter, Daniel Purvis
Daniel Purvis
Daniel Scott Purvis is an international elite gymnast from the UK from Crosby, Liverpool, and 2-time British all-around champion in Men's Artistic Gymnastics...
, Theo Seager
Theo Seager
Theo Seager is an English gymnast. He comes from Manchester and his club is Bury GC. He is coached by Paul Hockwart.He represented Great Britain at the Gymnastics World Championships at Rotterdam in 2010, helping the team to come 7th....
, Louis Smith
Louis Smith (gymnast)
Louis Antoine Smith is an English artistic gymnast from Eye near Peterborough. He is a member of the Huntingdon Gymnastics club, training alongside teammate Daniel Keatings under coach, Paul Hall....
and Kristian Thomas
Kristian Thomas
Kristian Thomas is an English gymnast. He comes from Wolverhampton and is a member of the Earls gymnastics club. He is coached by Michelle Bradley. In 2006, he attended the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, Australia, where he placed 12th and helped the English gymnastics team win the bronze...
in the British squad travelling to Berlin, Germany for the 2011 European Men's Artistic Gymnastics Championships from 6 to 10 April, again as the youngest member of the delegation representing Great Britain. Oldham qualified as the second reserve for the parallel bars final and in fourth place for the final on the horizontal bar. He came fourth in the horizontal bar final, which was his first major senior final.