Sam Oldham facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Sam Oldham |
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Sam Oldham with his silver medal from the 2015 European Championships
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Full name | Sam Joshua Oldham | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country represented |  Great Britain England |
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| Born | 17 February 1993 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hometown | Keyworth, Nottinghamshire, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 6 in (168 cm) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 9 st 11 lb; 62 kg (137 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Discipline | Men's artistic gymnastics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Notts Gymnastic Academy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Retired | 14 September 2021 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Sam Joshua Oldham, born on February 17, 1993, is a retired gymnast from England. He was a key part of the British team that won a bronze medal at the 2012 London Olympics. Sam also won three junior European championships. He earned a gold medal on the horizontal bar at the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics in Singapore.
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About Sam Oldham
Sam Oldham was born in Keyworth, Nottinghamshire, England. His parents are Bob and Dawn Oldham. Sam grew up with three siblings.
Sam first went to Crossdale Drive Primary School. Later, he attended Rushcliffe School. When he was 14, he started learning at home. This helped him focus more on his gymnastics training.
Sam's Start in Gymnastics
Sam began gymnastics at age seven. His teacher suggested he try it. He was also a very good football player. Sam played as a forward for Notts County F.C.. But the club later closed its youth program.
Even though other big football clubs like Nottingham Forest F.C. and Derby County F.C. wanted him, Sam chose gymnastics. His father and grandfather were both footballers. His younger brother still plays for Nottingham Forest's youth team.
Sam is a big fan of Manchester United F.C.. He looks up to Vitaly Scherbo, a gymnast who won six gold medals at the 1992 Summer Olympics. Sam would have loved to compete against him.
Sam's Gymnastics Journey
Junior Successes
When Sam was 14, he moved to Huntingdon. He trained there with gymnasts who were preparing for the 2008 Summer Olympics. He lived with the family of another gymnast, Cameron MacKenzie. One of his training partners was Louis Smith, who later won an Olympic medal. Louis thanked Sam for being a great training partner.
In 2008, at the European Gymnastics Championships in Lausanne, Switzerland, Sam was the youngest on the British team. He broke his wrist during his floor routine. But he bravely finished his routine with one hand! This helped the British junior team win a gold medal. Later that year, a company from Castle Donington started sponsoring Sam. They supported him all the way to the 2012 Summer Olympics.
In 2009, Sam joined the British team for the Australian Youth Olympic Festival. They won team gold. Later that year, he went to the European Youth Olympic Festival in Tampere, Finland. There, he won two gold medals: one on the pommel horse and one on the parallel bars. For his amazing performances, Sam was named BBC East Midlands' Junior Sports Personality of the Year in 2009. He also won all seven gold medals at the English national championships.
At the 2010 European Gymnastics Championships in Birmingham, England, Sam won three more gold medals. He became the junior European champion in the team all-around, the horizontal bar, and the individual all-around. Winning the individual all-around meant he could represent Great Britain at the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics in Singapore.
In Singapore, Sam did very well. He qualified second overall for the all-around competition. He also made it to the finals in four other events: the floor, pommel horse, parallel bars, and horizontal bar.
In the all-around final, Sam was in second place. But he fell from the horizontal bar, his last event. He ended up finishing fifth. However, he bounced back! He won a silver medal in the pommel horse event, just missing gold by a tiny bit. Then, he won gold on the horizontal bar. This was the same equipment he had fallen from earlier! Sam was the first to compete out of eight finalists. His score of 14.375 points was good enough for gold.
After these Games, Sam's coach, Paul Hall, said Sam had a chance to make the British team for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. Louis Smith called Sam an "amazing talent." The British head gymnastics coach, Andre Popov, believed Sam would "absolutely" become an Olympic champion.
Sam thought about joining the team for the 2010 Commonwealth Games. But he decided not to when he was chosen for the senior British team for the 2010 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships.
For his great year in 2010, Sam was nominated for the BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year Award. He also won the Junior Sportsperson of the Year Award at the Nottinghamshire Sports Awards.
Senior Career Highlights
Sam was chosen as Great Britain's reserve gymnast for the 2010 senior world championships in Rotterdam. He was the youngest member of the British men's team. The British team reached the final and finished seventh. Sam did not compete in the final. In 2011, Sam was part of the British team for the 2011 European Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Berlin, Germany. Again, he was the youngest. Sam qualified for the horizontal bar final and finished fourth. This was his first big senior final.
Sam was supposed to be part of the British team for the Olympic qualifier in January 2012. But he broke his collarbone before the 2011 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in October 2011. He hurt it again during that competition. Without Sam, the British team still qualified for the gymnastics events at the 2012 Summer Olympics.
Even with his injury, Sam ended his first year as a senior gymnast by winning silver at the British national championships. This competition was also the final tryout for the Olympic Games. Sam said his performance was "better than I could ever have hoped for." It was good enough for him to be chosen for the British Olympic team.
At 19, Sam was the youngest member of the British team for gymnastics at the 2012 Summer Olympics. On July 30, the team won a bronze medal in the men's team all-around final. This happened at the North Greenwich Arena.
In May 2014, at the 2014 European Championships in Sofia, Sam and his teammates (Daniel Keatings, Daniel Purvis, Max Whitlock, Kristian Thomas) won a silver medal for Team Great Britain. They finished behind Russia. In the individual event finals, Sam won a silver medal on the high bar. He was second only to the 2012 Olympic champion, Epke Zonderland.
Sam hurt his ankle ligaments at the Commonwealth Games in July 2014. But he came back to compete nine months later. He finished third overall in the all-around and won the floor exercise in the final tryout for the Olympics. However, he did not make the team for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
After the 2021 Men’s Artistic British Championships, Sam won a gold medal on the Horizontal Bar. He officially announced his retirement from gymnastics on September 14, 2021.
See also
In Spanish: Sam Oldham para niños
