GEMMA:My name's Gemma Gibbons, I'm an Olympic judo player and I fight in the weight category under 78 kilograms. I grew up in Charlton in Greenwich in southeast London, and that's where I've lived my whole life. It was just me and my mum growing up. When I was young I had a lot of energy and I was running around all the time, and I think that's why my mum took me to judo, to probably get me to waste a bit of that energy so I was a bit more calm when I was at home.
MUM ON VIDEO:Go on Gemma!
GEMMA:When I first went to the judo club I was actually really shy, but as soon as I stepped on the mat I loved it and couldn't wait to get to go back each week.
MUM ON VIDEO:Go on Gemma!
GEMMA:My mum was my biggest supporter, she always took me to training, went to all my competitions with me, and then sadly when I was 17 she died of cancer.
GEMMA:I'm actually the first judo Great Britain Olympic medallist in 12 years, and actually funny enough the person who won the last Olympic medal for Great Britain in judo was a lady called Kate Howey, who's actually my coach. Kate's a massive inspiration. When I was younger she was the person that I looked up to, the person that I wanted to be like, the person who I'd get excited if they were in my magazine, and if I ever saw her I would've been really, really excited. I think it's really important to have role models, it was brilliant having Kate as a role model growing up, she definitely was to me and I know for thousands of other young girls and boys around the country. I don't feel like a role model but I also know that I probably am and I just hope that I do a good job o-, of being one.
GEMMA:Judo's a sport which originated in Japan, it's about-, everything in judo is about technique, it's about power, it's about strength, it's about speed, it's about agility. I think judo is one of the only sports where you need every physical attribute going to be good at it.
GEMMA:I think it's really hard when people have high expectations of you because you don't want to let yourself down and you don't want to let anyone else down, but going into the games I wasn't expected to win, but I knew if I fought my best and gave it everything, that we could come away with a win. And in the quarter finals I um faced a girl from Holland. Again, at the time she was in the top ten in the world, I was ranked 42nd in the world, and I managed to go out there and-, and win. It was a great feeling to make the semi final. It was a pretty close fight, at the end of the five minutes and still no score, so it actually went into something called golden score.
COMMENTATOR:Is this Gemma Gibbons' moment?
GEMMA:Golden score, it's the first score, as small as it is, as big as it is, as soon as that score's scored that person wins.
WOMAN COMMENTATOR:Oh yes!
MAN COMMENTATOR:She's done it!
GEMMA:I don't think I ever imagined that I would be in a semi final and win and be on my way to an Olympic final. I-, I'd imagined it since a young age. I try not to think of my mum on competition days 'cause obviously it's something that makes me feel sad, but after I got through to the Olympic final I was just overcome with different emotions and it was something that just came out that I said um, "I love you Mum." When my mum died I realised just how much your parents do for you and I just wanted to say thank you and I love you. The Olympic final definitely could've gone the other way, but I'm just really happy that I was lucky enough for my judo to come off at the right time because there's a lot of people out there that are as good as-, at judo as me, probably better, and-, and unfortunately that day wasn't their day and they didn't come away with a medal, so I feel really lucky that I did.
GEMMA:What I could say, probably don't moan as much 'cause I did definitely love a moan when I was younger, and although the majority of the time I did try my hardest there were times when I didn't, and I'd just like to say to myself to always try your best 'cause then you can never be upset with yourself.
The story of how Gemma Gibbons became an Olympic medallist at the London 2012 Games.
She recalls key events and experiences from childhood that made her the athlete she is today.
As a child, Gemma had so much energy that her mum took her to judo from an early age.
She loved it straight away and explains that her mum was her biggest supporter.
With photos, animation and Olympic archive footage to illustrate her story, Gemma tells us that her biggest role model as a kid was Kate Howey, a famous British Judo star.
At 17, Gemma’s mother sadly died of cancer.
This massive loss motivated her to do something meaningful with her life and live it to the full.
Incredibly, Kate Howey became Gemma’s trainer and together they worked hard to ensure that Gemma trumped most of the competition.
Gemma’s message to children is, "I never thought I’d get this far with my sport and I feel very lucky. Great role models help, so it’s really important to have people that inspire you in your life.”
This clip is from the series Olympic Spark: Fire Up Your Future.
Teacher Notes
Gemma talks about the support she received from her mum who sadly died of cancer when Gemma was 17. We see Gemma mouthing ‘I love you mum’ as she triumphs and goes through to the final.
Students could discuss how Gemma wanted to share her success with her mum - who would students share their successes with, and how could they do this? Why is this shared celebration so important?
Students could talk about the importance of role models and consider what makes a good role model.
They could share their own role models and reasons why they admire this person.
Students could write a letter to a role model, talking about why they admire them and pose the questions they would like to ask.
Where possible, they could post the letters to their actual role models.
Curriculum Notes
This clip is suitable for teaching Physical Education and PSHE at KS2 and KS3 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and and 2nd, 3rd and 4th Level in Scotland.
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