Gerald Baker (bowls)
{{short description|South African lawn bowler}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2018}}
{{Use South African English|date=August 2018}}
{{Infobox sportsperson
| headercolor =
| name = Gerry Baker
| image =
| image_size =
| caption =
| nationality = South African
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1960|10|7|df=y}}{{cite web|url=https://www.bowlssa.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Nov-16.pdf|title=World Bowls Players Profiles|publisher=Bowls South Africa|access-date=22 May 2021|archive-date=22 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210522115930/https://www.bowlssa.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Nov-16.pdf|url-status=dead}}
| birth_place = Bloemfontein, South Africa
| death_date =
| death_place =
| club = Bryanston Sports Bowls Club
| medaltemplates =
{{MedalSport|Men's lawn bowls}}
{{MedalCountry|{{ZAF}}}}
{{MedalCompetition|Commonwealth Games}}
{{MedalBronze | 1998 Kuala Lumpur|Men's singles}}
{{MedalBronze | 2002 Manchester|Men's pairs}}
{{MedalGold | 2010 Delhi|Men's pairs}}
{{MedalCompetition|World Outdoor Bowls Championships}}
{{MedalSilver | 2000 Johannesburg|Men's pairs}}
{{MedalBronze | 2012 Adelaide|Men's pairs}}
{{MedalBronze | 2012 Adelaide|Men's singles}}
{{MedalCompetition|Atlantic Bowls Championships}}
{{MedalGold|2007 Ayr|fours}}
{{MedalGold|2009 Johannesburg|singles}}
{{MedalGold|2011 Paphos|pairs}}
}}
Gerald Salem Baker (born 7 October 1960), known as Gerry Baker, is a lawn bowler.
Bowls career
Baker is from Bloemfontein, in South Africa and has won three medals at the World Outdoor Championships and three medals at the Commonwealth Games.{{cite web|url=http://g2014results.thecgf.com/athlete/cycling_road/1000932/gerry_baker.html|title=Glasgow 2014 - Gerry Baker Profile|publisher=Commonwealth Games Federation|access-date=7 April 2015|archive-date=4 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304074908/http://g2014results.thecgf.com/athlete/cycling_road/1000932/gerry_baker.html|url-status=dead}} He broke a South African record by appearing at six Commonwealth Games.{{cite web|url=https://www.timeslive.co.za/sport/2018-04-03-sa-bowler-baker-beckons-cyclone-iris-into-gold-coast/|title=SA bowler Baker beckons Cyclone Iris into Gold Coast|publisher=Times Live}}
In 1996, he won the Hong Kong International Bowls Classic pairs title with Neil Burkett.{{cite web | url=http://www.hklba.org/new/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=146&Itemid=218&lang=en | title=HK Classic winners Men Pairs | publisher=HKLBA | access-date=7 June 2021}} In 1998 he won a bronze medal in the singles at the 1998 Kuala Lumpur Commonwealth Games and two years later he teamed up with Shaun Addinall to claim a Pairs silver medal in the 2000 World Outdoor Bowls Championship in Johannesburg. Another bronze arrived in 2002 with Addinall in the Pairs during the 2002 Manchester Commonwealth Games before he and Addinall finally won a Gold Medal in the Pairs at the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/commonwealth_games/delhi_2010/9084352.stm|title=Bowls silver for Mervyn King|date=12 October 2010|publisher=BBC Sport}}
In 2007 he won the fours gold medal at the Atlantic Bowls Championships.{{cite web|url=http://www.worldbowlsltd.co.uk/results-old.php|title=2007 Atlantic Championships|publisher=World Bowls Ltd|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101125035718/http://www.worldbowlsltd.co.uk/results-old.php|access-date=17 May 2021|archive-date=25 November 2010}}{{cite news |url= https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/IF0503552743/GDCS?u=oxfshlib&sid=GDCS&xid=8d4aa913|title=Bowls |date=18 July 2007 |newspaper=The Times |access-date=20 May 2021|page=61 |via=The Times Digital Archive|url-access=subscription }}
In 2009 he won the singles gold medal at the Atlantic Championships{{cite web|url=http://www.worldbowlsltd.co.uk/results-old.php|title=2009 Atlantic Championships|publisher=World Bowls Ltd|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100314062629/http://www.worldbowlsltd.co.uk/results-old.php|access-date=21 May 2021|archive-date=14 March 2010}}{{cite news |url= https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/IF0503964873/GDCS?u=oxfshlib&sid=GDCS&xid=284753c0|title=Bowls |date=18 May 2009 |newspaper=The Times |access-date=21 May 2021|page=61 |via=The Times Digital Archive|url-access=subscription }} and two years later won the pairs gold medal at the 2011 Atlantic Championships.{{cite web|url=http://www.worldbowlsltd.co.uk/mainresults.php |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111031201626/www.worldbowlsltd.co.uk/mainresults.php |archive-date=2011-10-31 |title=2011 Atlantic Championships|publisher=World Bowls Ltd|access-date=19 May 2021}}
His most recent success came in the 2012 World Outdoor Bowls Championship when he picked up a fifth medal of note by claiming bronze in the Singles in Adelaide.
He was selected as part of the South Africa team for the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast in Queensland (his sixth Games).{{cite web|url=https://www.thesouthafrican.com/team-south-africa-for-commonwealth-games-announced/|title=Team South Africa for Commonwealth Games announced|publisher=The South African}}
At national level he has finished runner-up three times at the South African National Bowls Championships bowling for the Belgravia Bowls Club.{{cite web|url=https://www.bowlssa.co.za/index.php/updates/newsletters|title=Newsletters|publisher=South Africa Bowls|access-date=3 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190403215844/https://www.bowlssa.co.za/index.php/updates/newsletters|archive-date=3 April 2019|url-status=dead}} He finally won a national title, when winning the pairs with Bradley Robinson in May 2023.{{cite web |url=https://www.thesouthafrican.com/sport/baker-robinson-storm-back-to-win-sa-pairs-title-breaking-14-may-2023/ |title=Baker, Robinson storm back to win SA pairs title |website=The South African |access-date=9 August 2023}}
Business career
Baker was appointed as a Director of World Bowls on 1 June 2020.{{cite web|url=http://www.worldbowls.com/about-us/board-structure/|title=Board Structure|publisher=World Bowls|access-date=4 June 2021|archive-date=4 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210604112350/http://www.worldbowls.com/about-us/board-structure/|url-status=dead}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{CGF profile}} (2014)
- {{2006 Commonwealth Games profile|103202|Gerald Salem Baker}}
- {{2014 Commonwealth Games profile|lawn_bowls/1000932/gerry_baker|Gerry Baker}}
- {{2018 Commonwealth Games profile|lawn-bowls/athlete-profile-n6013348-gerald-baker|Gerald Baker}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baker, Gerald}}
Category:South African male bowls players
Category:Commonwealth Games medallists in lawn bowls
Category:Commonwealth Games gold medallists for South Africa
Category:Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for South Africa
Category:Bowls players at the 1998 Commonwealth Games
Category:Bowls players at the 2002 Commonwealth Games
Category:Bowls players at the 2006 Commonwealth Games
Category:Bowls players at the 2010 Commonwealth Games
Category:Bowls players at the 2014 Commonwealth Games
Category:Bowls players at the 2018 Commonwealth Games
Category:Sportspeople from Bloemfontein
Category:Medallists at the 1998 Commonwealth Games
Category:Medallists at the 2002 Commonwealth Games