Gail Emms

Emms and Nathan Robertson reached the semi-finals of 1994 World Junior Championships held in Kuala Lumpur. In 1998 she graduated with a BSc (Hons) in Sports Science from Kingston University. After graduating Emms became a full-time professional badminton player with the help of national lottery funded grants paid to her by UK Sport. Her father owned a building firm that collapsed in the recession of the late 1980s leading to a sudden decline in the family standard of living. Her mother, Janice Emms (née Barton), played for the unofficial England women's national football team. Her parents divorced while Emms was in her early teens. == 2004 Athens Summer Olympics ==

Emms competed in badminton at the 2004 Summer Olympics in women's doubles with partner Donna Kellogg. They defeated Koon Wai Chee and Li Wing Mui of Hong Kong in the first round but were defeated by Zhao Tingting and Wei Yili of China in the second round. She also competed in mixed doubles with Robertson. They had a bye in the first round and defeated Björn Siegemund and Nicol Pitro of Germany in the second. In the quarterfinals, Emms and Robertson beat Chen Qiqiu and Zhao Tingting of China 15–8, 17–15 to advance to the semifinals. There, they beat Jonas Rasmussen and Rikke Olsen of Denmark 15–6, 15–12. In the final, they lost to the Chinese pair Zhang Jun and Gao Ling 1–15, 15–12, 12–15 to finish with the silver medal. == 2006 Commonwealth Games ==

The 2006 Commonwealth Games brought Emms a silver in the team event, a bronze in the women's doubles (with Donna Kellogg) and a gold in the mixed doubles (with Nathan Robertson). An additional gold together with Robertson followed at the 2006 IBF World Championships. == 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics ==

Emms participated in the women's doubles with partner Donna Kellogg only to be knocked out in the first round by the Chinese pair Wei Yili and Zhang Yawen. Emms then went on to win her first match in the mixed doubles with Nathan Robertson against the Chinese world number 2 pair. Emms and Robertson won the first game 21–16 before Gao Ling and her new partner Zheng Bo hit back to win the second 21–16. The British duo found themselves 12–17 down in the decider only to recover to win 21–19. Emms and Robertson lost out on a medal at the quarter final stage against the world number 10 pair and eventual gold medalist Lee Yong-dae and Lee Hyo-jung of South Korea. Emms retired after the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. == Later career ==

After 2008 Emms started a portfolio career and has engaged in badminton coaching, motivational speaking, media activities, TV commentary and product endorsements. The latter includes work for SKODA cars and Adidas. Emms has worked as a TV presenter and commentator for the BBC, Sky and BT Sport. She has delivered talks on performance, teamwork and gender issues at events held by many prominent clients including the Ashridge Business School, Sainsbury's and the Thames Valley Police. In 2013 she was appointed to the Badminton England coaching staff with a remit to develop young female prospects and mixed doubles pairs. But loss of financial support for badminton from UK Sport in 2017 resulted in cutbacks to the coaching programmes which impacted on Emms' position. Emms has appeared on the sports-based panel show A Question of Sport and is a regular guest on Fighting Talk. On 6 March 2014, she appeared on ''Sport Relief's Top Dog'' with her dog Raffa, a Westie. They won their heat, and went on to win the semi-final against Jenni Falconer on 20 March and the final, where they competed against Sally Gunnell. == Personal life ==

Emms was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2009 Birthday Honours for services to badminton. She gave birth to her first child, Harry, in March 2010 and to her second child, Oliver, in May 2013. In 2015 she was living in Milton Keynes with her partner. After retiring as a badminton player in 2008 Emms has periodically suffered from depression. She has spoken about the difficulty many professional athletes have in adjusting to life after retiring from their sport while still young. Emms is a passionate supporter of Tottenham Hotspur. She participated in the 2017 Great North Run half marathon in order to raise money for SportsAid, finishing in a time of 1 hour and 48 minutes. == Achievements ==

Olympic Games Mixed doubles World Championships Mixed doubles Commonwealth Games ''Women's doubles'' Mixed doubles European Championships ''Women's doubles'' Mixed doubles World University Championships ''Women's doubles'' Mixed doubles World Junior Championships Mixed doubles European Junior Championships ''Girls' doubles'' BWF Superseries The BWF Superseries, which was launched on 14 December 2006 and implemented in 2007, is a series of elite badminton tournaments, sanctioned by the Badminton World Federation (BWF). Successful players are invited to the Superseries Finals, which are held at the end of each year. Mixed doubles : BWF Superseries Finals tournament : BWF Superseries tournament IBF World Grand Prix The World Badminton Grand Prix has been sanctioned by the International Badminton Federation from 1983 to 2006. ''Women's doubles'' Mixed doubles IBF International ''Women's doubles'' Mixed doubles == Record against selected opponents ==

Mixed doubles results with former partner Nathan Robertson against Superseries finalists, World Championships Semi-finalists, and Olympic quarterfinalists. • Chen Qiqiu & Zhao Tingting 3–4 • Zhang Jun & Gao Ling 4–4 • Zheng Bo & Gao Ling 0–3 • He Hanbin & Yu Yang 2–1 • Xie Zhongbo & Zhang Yawen 3–3 • Jens Eriksen & Mette Schjoldager 1–2 • Joachim Fischer Nielsen & Christinna Pedersen 1–0 • Thomas Laybourn & Kamilla Rytter Juhl 4–3 • Jonas Rasmussen & Rikke Olsen 4–1 • Michael Søgaard & Rikke Olsen 3–1 • Simon Archer & Joanne Goode 1–0 • Anthony Clark & Donna Kellogg 3–1 • Flandy Limpele & Vita Marissa 2–1 • Nova Widianto & Vita Marissa 2–3 • Nova Widianto & Liliyana Natsir 4–5 • Kim Dong-moon & Ra Kyung-min 0–5 • Lee Yong-dae & Lee Hyo-jung 1–2 • Robert Mateusiak & Nadieżda Zięba 2–1 • Fredrik Bergström & Johanna Persson 1–0 • Sudket Prapakamol & Saralee Thungthongkam 6–2 == References ==