Jennifer Gadirova

Jennifer Gadirova (born 3 October 2004) is an English artistic gymnast of Irish birth and Azerbaijani descent, representing Great Britain internationally.[4] She represented Great Britain at the 2020 Summer Olympics and won a bronze medal in the team event, and was part of the Great Britain team to win silver, their best ever result, in the team event at the 2022 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships and the same medal at the 2022 European Championships. Competing at the 2019 Junior World Championships, she won a silver medal in the vault final.[5]

Jennifer Gadirova
Personal information
Country represented Great Britain
 England
Born (2004-10-03) 3 October 2004 (age 19)[1]
Dublin, Ireland[2]
DisciplineWomen's artistic gymnastics
LevelSenior international elite
Years on national team2019 – present (GBR)
ClubAylesbury Gymnastics Academy[3]
Head coach(es)Molly Richardson, Joshua Richardson
Medal record
Women's artistic gymnastics
Representing  Great Britain
Olympic Games
Bronze medal – third place2020 TokyoTeam
World Championships
Silver medal – second place2022 LiverpoolTeam
European Championships
Silver medal – second place2022 MunichTeam
Junior World Championships
Silver medal – second place2019 GyőrVault
FIG World Cup
Event1st2nd3rd
World Challenge Cup001
Total001

Jennifer Gadirova is the twin sister and teammate of the 2022 World Champion on floor exercise, Jessica Gadirova.[1]

Personal life

Gadirova and her twin sister Jessica were born in Dublin, Ireland, and are of Azerbaijani background.[6] Their father, Natig Gadirov, is a citizen of Azerbaijan and their mother is Azerbaijani as well. Gadirova was born in Dublin while her parents worked there for a few months; as a result she has Azeri, Irish and British citizenships.[7][8] Her paternal grandparents live in Baku: grandmother is a retired paediatrician, and grandfather is a professor in physics and mathematics.[9] Gadirova and her sister began gymnastics at six years old because their mother wanted them to have an outlet for their energy.[4]

Junior gymnastics career

Espoir: 2016

Gadirova competed at the 2016 English Championships, where she placed first on floor exercise, winning the Christine Bowker Artistry Trophy, and fourth in the all-around.[10]

Junior: 2018–19

Gadirova competed at the 2018 English Championships in February where she placed twelfth.[11] The following month she competed at the British Championships, where she placed fifth on floor exercise, sixth on vault, and nineteenth in the all-around.[12] She ended the season competing at the British Team Championships, where she placed third in the junior non-squad all-around.[13]

In March 2019, Gadirova competed at the English Championships, where she placed third behind Ondine Achampong and Halle Hilton.[14] Later that month she competed at the British Championships where she placed fifth in the all-around and won gold on floor exercise, silver on vault, behind Annie Young, and bronze on uneven bars, behind Achampong and Young.[15]

Gadirova competed at the inaugural Junior World Championships in Győr, Hungary alongside her twin sister Jessica and Alia Leat. During the team final the trio finished in sixth place and individually Gadirova finished seventh in the all-around.[16] During event finals Gadirova won silver on vault with a score of 14.133 behind American Kayla DiCello. Additionally she finished fourth on floor exercise (13.266) and sixth on balance beam (13.133).[4] Gadirova was the first British gymnast to win a medal at the Junior World Championships.[5]

Team / All-Around Final
Balance Beam Final
Floor Exercise Final

In July Gadirova competed at the Sainté Gym Cup, where she helped Great Britain win team gold.[17] In September she competed at the 2019 Women's Artistic Adrian Stan British Teams Championships, finishing second in the junior all-around, after her sister.[18] In November she competed at the Massilia Cup in France, winning gold on vault and silver on floor.[19]

Senior gymnastics career

2020

In 2020 Gadirova became age-eligible for senior level competition; her senior debut was the 2020 American Cup[20] where she replaced the injured Amelie Morgan. She placed fourth behind Morgan Hurd, Kayla DiCello (both from the United States), and Hitomi Hatakeda of Japan. While there, she received the highest score on floor exercise (13.700) and vault (14.566), second highest on balance beam (13.933), and tenth highest on uneven bars.[21]

2021

In April Gadirova was selected to represent Great Britain at the 2021 European Championships alongside her twin sister Jessica, Alice Kinsella, and Amelie Morgan.[22] Later that month she withdrew as a precaution due to a minor injury and was replaced by Phoebe Jakubczyk.[23]

On 7 June, Gadirova was selected to represent Great Britain at the 2020 Summer Olympics, alongside her twin sister Jessica, Alice Kinsella, and Amelie Morgan.[24] At the Olympic Games, Gadirova qualified for the all-around final; additionally Great Britain qualified for the team final. During the team final, Gadirova performed on vault, balance beam, and floor exercise, hitting all of her routines and helping Great Britain win the bronze medal, their first Olympic team medal in 93 years.[25] During the all-around final, Gadirova had some minor issues on the uneven bars but still finished thirteenth place overall.[26] Originally Gadirova was the first reserve for the floor exercise final but she was able to compete after Simone Biles withdrew. During the floor exercise event final, Gadirova finished in seventh place.[27]

In December 2021 Gadirova became a brand ambassador for gymnastics leotard manufacturer Milano Pro-Sport.[28]

2022

In March Gadirova competed at the 2022 English Championships where she placed third on bars and second on floor.[29] Later that month she competed at the British Championships in Liverpool where she won bronze in the all-around with a score of 52.350, placing behind her Aylesbury teammates Jessica Gadirova and Ondine Achampong.[30] She then went on to win bronze on the uneven bars, gold on balance beam and silver on floor exercise.[31] In July Gadirova was selected to compete at the 2022 European Championships alongside her sister Jessica, Achampong, Georgia-Mae Fenton, and Alice Kinsella.[32] While there she contributed scores on balance beam and floor exercise towards Great Britain's second place finish.[33] During event finals Gadirova placed fifth on floor exercise.

In September Gadirova competed at the Paris World Challenge Cup. She qualified to the balance beam and floor exercise finals. She won bronze on floor exercise behind Americans Jordan Chiles and Shilese Jones and placed fourth on balance beam.[34] Later that month Gadirova was named to the team to compete at the 2022 World Championships, once again alongside her twin sister Jessica, Achampong, Kinsella, and Fenton.[35] Gadirova qualified to the floor exercise final and helped Great Britain qualify to the team final. During the team final Gadirova competed on floor exercise, helping Great Britain win the silver medal and achieve their highest placement at a World Championships.[36]

2023

In March Gadirova competed at the British championships, where she only competed on the beam, placing twelfth with a score of 11.950.[37] She was also awarded master gymnast.[38] On 20 April, it was confirmed that she was injured.[39]

Selected competitive skills

ApparatusNameDescriptionDifficulty[a]Performed
VaultBaitovaYurchenko entry, laid out salto backwards with two twists5.42020
Uneven barsPiked JaegerReverse grip swing to piked salto forwards to catch high barE2020
Van LeeuwenToe-On Shaposhnikova transition with ½ twist to high barE2020
Balance beamSwitch RingSwitch Leap to Ring Position (180° split with raised back leg)E2020
Double pikeDismount: Double piked salto backwardsE2022
Full-inDismount: Full-twisting (1/1) double tucked salto backwardsG2020
Floor exerciseMukhinaFull-twisting (1/1) double tucked salto backwardsE2022
Double LayoutDouble laid out salto backwardsF2021–22
ChusovitinaFull-twisting (1/1) double laid out salto backwardsH2021
SilivasDouble-twisting (2/1) double tucked salto backwardsH2020

Competitive history

YearEventTeamAAVTUBBBFX
Espoir
2016English Championships44
Junior
2018English Championships12
British Championships1965
British Team Championships
2019English Championships
British Championships5
FIT Challenge411
Junior World Championships67 64
Sainté Gym Cup 11
British Team Championships
Elite Gym Massilia9
Senior
2020American Cup4
2021
Olympic Games 137
2022English Championships 6
British Championships
European Championships 5
Paris Challenge Cup4
World Championships 7
2023British Championships12

References