Sam Oldham

Sam Oldham was born on 17 February 1993 to Bob and Dawn Oldham.{{cite news |url=http://www.thisisnottingham.co.uk/news/Teenage-gymnast-course-gold-2012/article-568238-detail/article.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130421121311/http://www.thisisnottingham.co.uk/news/Teenage-gymnast-course-gold-2012/article-568238-detail/article.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=21 April 2013 |title=Teenage gymnast on course for gold in 2012 |author=Delia Monk |work=Nottingham Post |date=24 December 2008 |access-date=10 October 2010}} Oldham currently lives in Keyworth, Nottinghamshire, England{{cite news |url=http://www.thisisnottingham.co.uk/news/won-gold-medal-broken-wrist/article-1781987-detail/article.html |title='I won gold medal with a broken wrist' |author=Jennifer Scott |work=Nottingham Post |date=30 January 2010 |access-date=2 October 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101010030257/http://www.thisisnottingham.co.uk/news/won-gold-medal-broken-wrist/article-1781987-detail/article.html |archive-date=10 October 2010 |df=dmy-all}} with his parents and three siblings.

Sam's first school was Crossdale Drive Primary School in Keyworth. Oldham then attended Rushcliffe School in West Bridgford before leaving the institution at 14 to be home-taught so he could focus on training.

Oldham first started in gymnastics at the age of seven on the recommendation of his teacher,{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/olympics/oldham-saddles-up-to-pummel-his-way-to-top-1299555.html |title=Oldham saddles up to pummel his way to top |author=Alan Hubbard |date=11 January 2009 |work=Independent on Sunday |access-date=2 October 2010}} but was also a talented footballer. Oldham played in the Notts County F.C. Centre of Excellence as a forward until the club closed it down. Despite receiving offers from Nottingham Forest F.C. and Derby County F.C., Oldham chose to focus on gymnastics. Oldham's father and grandfather were both footballers, and his younger brother currently plays in the Nottingham Forest youth setup.

Oldham is a Manchester United F.C. fan and considers Vitaly Scherbo to be the gymnast he would most like to compete against, for the latter's performance winning six golds at the 1992 Summer Olympics.

Oldham left Rushcliffe School and moved to Huntingdon at the age of 14 to train with the 2008 Summer Olympics-bound gymnasts, where he lodged with the family of fellow gymnast, Cameron MacKenzie.{{cite video |date=3 July 2008 |title=Gymnast follows Olympic dream |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/7488754.stm |format=swf |medium=Television news report |publisher=BBC News |access-date=18 October 2010}} His other training partners included eventual pommel horse bronze medallist Louis Smith. Smith later thanked Oldham for being his training partner leading up to Beijing.

At the European Gymnastics Championships in Lausanne, Switzerland in 2008, where he was the youngest member of the British team, Oldham broke his wrist during his floor routine. However, he managed to complete his routine one-handed and helped the British team to gold in the junior team event. Late in 2008, a Castle Donington-based company agreed to sponsor Oldham up to the 2012 Summer Olympics.

Oldham was named to the British team for the 2009 Australian Youth Olympic Festival, where he won team gold. Later that year, he was selected to be in the British delegation to the European Youth Olympic Festival in Tampere, Finland, where he won two golds in the pommel horse and parallel bars events.{{cite web |work=British Gymnastics |title=British Gymnastics Best Achievements in 2009 |url=http://www.british-gymnastics.org/site/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=136&Itemid=344 |access-date=2 October 2010 |archive-date=2 August 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100802181053/http://www.british-gymnastics.org/site/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=136&Itemid=344 |url-status=dead }} Oldham was named BBC East Midlands' Junior Sports Personality of the Year in 2009 for his performances in Tampere and for sweeping all seven golds available at the English national championships.{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/nottingham/hi/people_and_places/newsid_8388000/8388681.stm |title=Carl Froch named BBC East Midlands Sports Personality |date=4 December 2009 |access-date=2 October 2010 |work=BBC East Midlands}}

At the 2010 European Gymnastics Championships in Birmingham, England, Oldham won three gold medals, becoming European junior champion in the team all-around,{{cite web |url=http://www.longinestiming.com/sports/gym/ag_ec2k10mj/C73A_ResultsTeam_GA%20Men%20Junior_Concours%20I.pdf |title=Team Results: Juniors Team Competition and Qualifications for CII & CIII |date=22 April 2010 |access-date=2 October 2010 |work=European Union of Gymnastics |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110713232529/http://www.longinestiming.com/sports/gym/ag_ec2k10mj/C73A_ResultsTeam_GA%20Men%20Junior_Concours%20I.pdf |archive-date=13 July 2011 |df=dmy-all}} the horizontal bar,{{cite web |url=http://www.longinestiming.com/sports/gym/ag_ec2k10mj/C73I_ResultsApparatus_GA%20Men%20Junior_Concours%20III_High_Bar.pdf |title=Results: Juniors Apparatus Final |date=25 April 2010 |access-date=2 October 2010 |work=European Union of Gymnastics |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110713232544/http://www.longinestiming.com/sports/gym/ag_ec2k10mj/C73I_ResultsApparatus_GA%20Men%20Junior_Concours%20III_High_Bar.pdf |archive-date=13 July 2011 |df=dmy-all}} and the individual all-around.{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/olympic_games/8913222.stm |title=Singapore set for Youth Olympics |date=13 August 2010 |author=Ore Oduba |work=BBC Sport |access-date=2 October 2010}} By winning the individual all-around, Oldham secured qualification to represent Great Britain at the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics in Singapore.{{cite web |url=http://www.british-gymnastics.org/site/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1450:team-gb-youth-olympic-games-squad-selected&catid=1:news |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130414090259/http://www.british-gymnastics.org/site/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1450:team-gb-youth-olympic-games-squad-selected&catid=1:news |url-status=dead |archive-date=14 April 2013 |title=Team GB Youth Olympic Games Squad Selected |work=British Gymnastics |access-date=2 October 2010}}

In Singapore, Oldham qualified second overall for the all-around competition and made the finals in four other events – the floor, pommel horse, parallel bars, and horizontal bar.{{cite news |url=http://www.thisisnottingham.co.uk/news/Oldham-falls-medals-Singapore/article-2543189-detail/article.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130505095305/http://www.thisisnottingham.co.uk/news/Oldham-falls-medals-Singapore/article-2543189-detail/article.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=5 May 2013 |title=Oldham falls out of the medals in Singapore |work=Nottingham Post |date=19 August 2010 |access-date=2 October 2010 }}

Oldham was in the silver medal position in the all-around final when he suffered a fall from the horizontal bar, his final apparatus, thus finishing fifth.{{cite news |url=http://www.thisisnottingham.co.uk/news/Oldham-strikes-gold-bar-banish-painful-memories/article-2556541-detail/article.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120917195553/http://www.thisisnottingham.co.uk/news/Oldham-strikes-gold-bar-banish-painful-memories/article-2556541-detail/article.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=17 September 2012 |title=Oldham strikes gold on bar to banish painful memories |work=Nottingham Post |date=23 August 2010 |access-date=2 October 2010 }}{{cite news |url=http://www.sportinglife.com/others/news/story_get.cgi?STORY_NAME=others/10/08/21/manual_162503.html |title=Oldham earns silver medal |work=sportinglife.com |access-date=2 October 2010 }}{{Dead link|date=May 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} However, he recovered from the setback to win silver in the pommel horse event, missing out on gold by 0.25 points. Oldham subsequently followed that by winning gold in the horizontal bar event,{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/olympic_games/8934607.stm |title=Sam Oldham wins Youth Olympics gold but Tom Daley fails |author=Staff writer |work=BBC Sport |date=22 August 2010 |access-date=2 October 2010}} on the same apparatus in which he had suffered his fall during the all-around competition. Despite going first out of the eight finalists, Oldham's score of 14.375 points held out throughout and was enough for gold.{{Cite web|url=https://www.scotsman.com/sport/oldham-strikes-gb-gold-faultless-horizontal-bar-display-1708089?amp|title = Oldham strikes GB gold with faultless horizontal bar display}}

After the Games, Oldham's coach Paul Hall described Oldham as having a chance of making the British team for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London,{{cite news |url=http://www.huntspost.co.uk/sport/youth_olympic_games_win_for_golden_oldham_1_607437 |title=Youth Olympic Games win for golden Oldham |work=Hunts Post |date=25 August 2010 |access-date=2 October 2010 |archive-date=27 August 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100827093502/http://www.huntspost.co.uk/sport/youth_olympic_games_win_for_golden_oldham_1_607437 |url-status=dead }} while Smith called Oldham is an "amazing talent" and British head gymnastics coach Andre Popov predicted Oldham will "absolutely" become Olympic champion.{{cite news |url=http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Sport/Story/STIStory_562736.html |title=Sam aims to ride on revival |author=Lin Xinyi |work=The Straits Times |date=6 August 2010 |access-date=2 October 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100902022812/http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Sport/Story/STIStory_562736.html |archive-date=2 September 2010}}

Oldham considered trying for the 2010 Commonwealth Games team. However, according to Oldham, this plan was shelved when he was selected to the British senior team for the 2010 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships.{{cite web |url=http://www.samoldham.co.uk/diary.html |title=Diary |last=Oldham |first=Sam |access-date=13 February 2011 |quote=there a possibility that I may have tried for the Team to the Commonwealths Games. This all changed though as I was selected for the Senior Team for the World Championships |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101204071551/http://www.samoldham.co.uk/diary.html |archive-date=4 December 2010}}

For his performances in 2010, Oldham was shortlisted for the BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year Award,{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/school_report/9237939.stm |title=YSPOTY contenders: Sam Oldham Q&A |date=30 November 2010 |work=BBC News Online |access-date=8 April 2011}} and for Junior Sportsperson of the Year Award at the Nottinghamshire Sports Awards, the latter of which he won.{{cite news |url=http://www.thisisnottingham.co.uk/news/Westwood-lifts-county-s-award/article-3248893-detail/article.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130505071025/http://www.thisisnottingham.co.uk/news/Westwood-lifts-county-s-award/article-3248893-detail/article.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=5 May 2013 |title=Lee Westwood lifts Notts' Sportsperson of the Year award |date=22 February 2011 |work=Nottingham Post |access-date=8 April 2011 }}

Oldham was named as Great Britain's reserve gymnast to participate at the 2010 senior world championships in Rotterdam. He was the youngest member of the British men's team.{{cite web |url=http://www.gymnasticsresults.com/worlds/2010/mag/part.pdf |title=42nd FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Rotterdam (NED) – Nominative Registration – MAG |page=3 |access-date=13 February 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160910202110/http://www.gymnasticsresults.com/worlds/2010/mag/part.pdf |archive-date=10 September 2016 |url-status=dead }} The British team qualified for the final and finished seventh in the team all-around, although Oldham did not ultimately take part in the competition.{{cite web |url=http://www.gymnasticsresults.com/worlds/2010/mag/teamsfinal.pdf |title=42nd Artistic Gymnastics World Championships – Results Men's Team Final |access-date=13 February 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160910064949/http://www.gymnasticsresults.com/worlds/2010/mag/teamsfinal.pdf |archive-date=10 September 2016 |url-status=dead }} In 2011, Oldham was included along with Samuel Hunter, Daniel Purvis, Theo Seager, Louis Smith and Kristian Thomas in the British squad travelling to Berlin, Germany for the 2011 European Artistic Gymnastics Championships from 6 to 10 April, again as the youngest member of the delegation representing Great Britain.{{cite web |url=http://www.ueg-gymnastics.com/commstore/objekt.pl?katalog=downloads&Feld=datei&ID=1316&inline |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111005015504/http://www.ueg-gymnastics.com/commstore/objekt.pl?katalog=downloads&Feld=datei&ID=1316&inline |url-status=dead |archive-date=5 October 2011 |title=4th European artistic gymnastic individual Championships M & W |work=European Union of Gymnastics |access-date=2 April 2011}} Oldham qualified as the second reserve for the parallel bars final and in fourth place for the final on the horizontal bar.{{cite web |url=http://www.ueg-gymnastics.com/commstore/objekt.pl?katalog=news&Feld=datei2&ID=5115&inline |title=List of qualifiers Men's Apparatus Finals |date=7 April 2011 |work=European Union of Gymnastics |access-date=8 April 2011}} {{Dead link|date=April 2012|bot=H3llBot}} He came fourth in the horizontal bar final, which was his first major senior final.{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/gymnastics/13028752.stm |access-date=11 April 2011 |title=European Gymnastics : Beth Tweddle loses floor title |last=Williams |first=Ollie |work=BBC Sport |date=10 April 2011}}

Oldham was to have been part of the British squad at the London Prepares series gymnastics Olympic qualifier in January 2012, but missed out after breaking his collarbone before the 2011 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in October 2011, and further injuring himself during that competition. Without Oldham, the British team secured qualification to the gymnastics events at the 2012 Summer Olympics.{{cite news |url=http://www1.skysports.com/olympics/story/21762/7436200 |title=Oldham: Failure did us good |date=16 January 2012 |work=Sky Sports |access-date=12 March 2012}}

Despite his injury setback, Oldham ended the first year of his senior career by winning all-around silver at the British national championships, which doubled as the final selection trial for the Olympic Games.{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/olympics/18565148 |title=Daniel Purvis and Rebecca Tunney win British all-around titles |date=23 June 2012 |work=BBC Sport |access-date=13 July 2012}} Oldham attributed his performance, which he said was "better than I could ever have hoped for"{{cite news |url=http://www.southportvisiter.co.uk/southport-sport/other-sports/2012/06/26/daniel-purvis-wins-british-gymnastics-title-101022-31256128/ |title=Daniel Purvis wins British Gymnastics title |date=26 June 2012 |work=Southport Visiter |publisher=Trinity Mirror |access-date=13 July 2012}} and was good enough to see him named to the British squad for the Olympics over Dan Keatings,{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/gymnastics/18706095 |title=BBC Sport – London 2012: GB's Beth Tweddle fit for last gold medal attempt |date=4 July 2012 |work=BBC Sport |access-date=13 July 2012}} to the trials being the final chance to impress the Olympic selectors after his injury layoff.{{cite news |url=http://www.morethanthegames.co.uk/gymnastics/2417473-purvis-retains-title-keatings-and-oldham-stake-their-olympic-claims |title=Purvis retains title as Keatings and Oldham stake their Olympic claims |date=24 June 2012 |publisher=MorethantheGames.co.uk |access-date=13 July 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120801115806/http://www.morethanthegames.co.uk/gymnastics/2417473-purvis-retains-title-keatings-and-oldham-stake-their-olympic-claims |archive-date=1 August 2012 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all}}

At 19, Oldham was the youngest member to be named to the British team for gymnastics at the 2012 Summer Olympics,{{cite news |url=http://www.huntspost.co.uk/sport/huntingdon_gymnast_louis_smith_earns_team_gb_call_up_but_dan_keatings_misses_out_1_1432242 |title=Huntingdon gymnast Louis Smith earns Team GB call up but Dan Keatings misses out |date=4 July 2012 |work=Hunts Post |access-date=13 July 2012 |archive-date=8 July 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120708203001/http://www.huntspost.co.uk/sport/huntingdon_gymnast_louis_smith_earns_team_gb_call_up_but_dan_keatings_misses_out_1_1432242 |url-status=dead }} which won a bronze medal in the men's team all-around final at the North Greenwich Arena on 30 July.{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/olympics/18906623 |title=Olympic gymnastics: bronze for GB as Japan win silver on appeal |date=30 July 2012 |work=BBC Sport |access-date=30 March 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120730194425/http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/olympics/18906623 |archive-date=30 July 2012 |df=dmy-all}}

On 19–25 May 2014, at the 2014 European Championships in Sofia. Oldham along with his teammates (Daniel Keatings, Daniel Purvis, Max Whitlock, Kristian Thomas) won Team Great Britain the silver medal behind Russia with a total score of 262.087 points. In event finals, Oldham won the silver medal in high bar (14.866) behind 2012 Olympic champion Epke Zonderland.{{cite web |url=http://www.intlgymnast.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4052:ablyazin-wilson-dominate-european-finals&catid=5:competition-reports&Itemid=164 |title=Ablyazin, Wilson Dominate European Finals |work=international gymnast |access-date=25 May 2014}}

Oldham suffered from ankle ligament damage at the Commonwealth Games in July 2014, but returned to competition nine months later. Although he was third overall in the all-around and won the floor exercise in the final trial for the Olympics, he did not make the squad for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.{{cite news |url=http://www.skysports.com/more-sports/olympics/news/29876/10499659/rio-2016-sky-scholar-sam-oldham-appeals-after-not-making-team-gb-gymnastics-olympics-squad |title=Rio 2016: Sky Scholar Sam Oldham appeals after not making Team GB gymnastics Olympics squad |author=Mark Ashenden |date=13 July 2016 |work=Sky Sports}}

Following the 2021 Men’s Artistic British Championships, where he won a gold medal on the Horizontal Bar with a score of 13.900, Oldham announced his official retirement from elite gymnastics on 14 September 2021.{{cite web|last=|date=14 September 2021|title=Olympian Sam Oldham announces retirement|url=https://www.british-gymnastics.org/articles/olympian-sam-oldham-announces-retirement|work=British Gymnastics|language=en-GB}}

{{reflist|2}}

• {{FIG|bio=30583|lic=14474|name=Sam Oldham}}
• [http://www.british-gymnastics.org/gymnast-profiles/161390/sam-oldham Sam Oldham] at British Gymnastics
• {{Olympics.com}}
• {{Olympedia}}
• {{CGF}}
• {{Team GB}}

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Category:Gymnasts at the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics

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Category:Medallists at the 2014 Commonwealth Games

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