Sam Quek facts for kids
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Quek in 2023
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Birth name | Samantha Ann Quek | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 18 October 1988 Liverpool, England |
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| Height | 1.62 m (5 ft 4 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 62 kg (9 st 11 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Country |  England United Kingdom |
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| Sport | Field hockey | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Samantha Ann Quek (born 18 October 1988) is a famous English former field hockey player and a television presenter. She played as a defender for both the England and Great Britain teams. She wore squad number 13 and won a gold medal with the British team at the 2016 Summer Olympics.
Sam Quek has presented many sports shows on TV. These include American football for the BBC, rugby union for Channel 5, and football for Channel 4. She has also appeared as a contestant on popular shows like I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! in 2016. In 2020, she reached the final three on Celebrity Masterchef. In 2021, she became a team captain on the BBC One sports show Question of Sport. She also joined Strictly Come Dancing as a contestant in 2024.
Early Life and School
Sam Quek was born on 18 October 1988 in Liverpool, England. Her mother is English, and her father is from Singapore. She also has a twin brother. When she was five, her family moved to the Wirral Peninsula.
She went to Hillside Primary School and then Birkenhead High School. Later, she studied at Leeds Metropolitan University. There, she earned a degree in Sport & Exercise Science.
Sam started playing hockey while at Birkenhead High School. She tried out for the Wirral under-12 team and was chosen. Her team won the Merseyside Youth Games two years in a row. She then joined a team called Mini Panthers, where she continued to improve her hockey skills.
Hockey Career Highlights
Sam Quek played as a defender for both the England and Great Britain teams. She wore the number 13 shirt.
In 2005, Sam was part of the England team that won the Girl's (Under-18s) Four Nations Invitational Tournament. She also won a gold medal with the Great Britain Team at the 2007 Australian Youth Olympic Festival. She played her first international game for Great Britain in 2007, when she was 19. She made her England debut the next year.
She played for England at the 2013 Women's EuroHockey Nations Championship and the 2014 Commonwealth Games. At the Commonwealth Games, her team won a silver medal.
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In 2014, Sam Quek was captain of the England team during the Champions Trophy. She played in every game, even though she broke two ribs in the first match without knowing it at the time! In August 2015, she helped the England hockey team win a gold medal at the European Championships. She was named "Man of the Match" in the final against the Netherlands, who were world and Olympic champions.
Olympic Gold Medal
In August 2016, Sam Quek competed in the Rio Olympic Games. The Great Britain team played incredibly well, winning all their group matches. They beat strong teams like Australia, India, and Argentina.
They then won their quarter-final and semi-final matches, reaching the final. In a thrilling final, Great Britain beat the Netherlands in a penalty shootout after the game ended in a 3-3 draw. This was the first time Great Britain's women's hockey team had won an Olympic gold medal! During this competition, Sam played her 50th game for Great Britain.
Medical Exemptions in Sport
In 2016, some private medical information about athletes, including Sam Quek, was shared online. This information showed that Sam had been given a Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE) in 2008. A TUE allows athletes to use certain medicines for medical reasons, even if those medicines are usually restricted in sports. Sam's TUE was for an inhaler she used as a teenager. She explained that she always followed all the rules and guidelines for athletes. She also said that TUEs are important for athletes who need medication for their health.
Football Interests
Before focusing on hockey, Sam Quek also played football for Tranmere Rovers F.C. as a junior. When she was 16, she had to choose between a professional career in hockey or football. She decided to focus on hockey. She was later offered a chance to try out for the Liverpool Ladies team, but she chose not to take it up.
TV and Media Work
Sam Quek has become a well-known face on television. In May 2016, she won £2,500 on the BBC game show For What It's Worth with her husband. Later that year, she was a contestant on I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!, finishing in fourth place.
She has been a guest on many other shows, including Play to the Whistle, A Question of Sport, The Chase, and Pointless Celebrities.
Sam has presented sports shows for the BBC (like The NFL Show), Channel 5, and BT Sport. She also writes sports columns for newspapers like the Metro and the Daily Mirror. In 2019, she started hosting the BBC's football phone-in show, 606. In 2020, she was a finalist on Celebrity Masterchef.
In July 2021, Sam Quek became a team captain on the popular show Question of Sport. She was the first permanent female captain on the show. She also helped present the BBC's coverage of the Tokyo Olympic Games.
In November 2021, she won £16,000 for the charity WellChild on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?. Since January 2022, she has been a host on the BBC One show Morning Live. In 2023, she co-hosted the opening ceremony of the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 in Liverpool. In 2024, she joined Strictly Come Dancing as a contestant.
In June 2024, Sam released a children's non-fiction book called Roar: A celebration of Great Sporting Women.
Personal Life
Sam Quek is married to Tom Mairs, who works in property. She is a big fan of Liverpool football club. She also supports the Kansas City Chiefs American football team.
In 2017, she was awarded an MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) for her services to hockey. This is a special award given by the King or Queen for great achievements.
Sam published her autobiography, Sam Quek: Hope and a Hockey Stick, in 2018. She became a mother to a daughter, Molly Doris Mairs, in March 2021. In March 2022, she welcomed her second child, a son named Isaac Gregory Mairs.
See also
In Spanish: Sam Quek para niños
