Occupation
Athlete
Spoken languages
English
Club
Aylesbury Gymnastics Academy: England
Coach
Molly Richardson [club]; Joshua Richardson [club]
Sporting relatives
Her twin sister Jennifer competed alongside her at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. (gymnastics.sport, 02 Sep 2021)
International senior debut
2021
Reason for taking up the sport
Her mother introduced Jessica and her twin sister to gymnastics because she felt they needed an outlet for their energy. "The reason why I do gymnastics is because I find it fun, and I love to perform."
Milestones
At age 18 years and 34 days, she became the youngest artistic gymnast representing Great Britain to win a gold medal at the world championships when she was victorious on floor exercise at the 2022 edition of the tournament in Liverpool, England. (SportsDeskOnline, 22 Nov 2022; thetimes.co.uk, 20 Nov 2022)
She became the first female artistic gymnast representing Great Britain to win a medal in the individual all-around event at the world championships when she claimed bronze at the 2022 edition of the tournament in Liverpool, England. (SportsDeskOnline, 17 Nov 2022; olympics.nbcsports.com, 03 Nov 2022)
She was part of the first British artistic gymnastics team to win a medal in the women's team event at the Olympic Games for 93 years [since 1928] when they claimed bronze at the 2020 Games in Tokyo. (SportsDeskOnline, 12 Oct 2022; news.sky.com, 27 Jul 2021)
Ambitions
To compete at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. (Instagram profile, 22 Nov 2022)
Hero / Idol
US artistic gymnast Simone Biles. (theacademy.me, 01 Jul 2018)
Most influential person in career
Coaches Molly Richardson and Joshua Richardson. (olympics.com, 07 Aug 2022)
Philosophy / Motto
"Do not be afraid. Believe in yourself and never give up in order to keep going forward." (theacademy.me, 01 Jul 2018)
Awards
She was named BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year for 2022. (bbc.co.uk, 21 Dec 2022)
In 2022 she was named Young Sportswoman of the Year at the Sunday Times Sportswomen of the Year Awards. (thetimes.co.uk, 20 Nov 2022)
Additional information
FAMILY BACKGROUND
She and her twin sister Jennifer were born in Dublin, Ireland. Their parents are from Azerbaijan and moved to London, England, in 2001. "In 2004, we moved to Dublin for a few months for work [which is when the twins were born]. As a result, the girls now have both Irish and British citizenships," their father Natig said. (olympics.com, 07 Aug 2022; haqqin.az, 24 Apr 2021)
Last update : 2024-07-22
32
0
123
