Suzanne Dando
| Suzanne Jane Dando | |
|---|---|
| Country represented |
 United Kingdom
|
| Born |
3 July 1961 Balham, London |
| Gym | Ladywell Gymnastics Club |
| Retired | 1980 |
Suzanne Jane Dando, BEM (born 3 July 1961 in Balham, London) is a former English Olympic gymnast, who competed at the 1979 World Gymnastics Championship in Fort Worth, Dallas and the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. Since her retirement, she has worked as a television broadcaster for a number of channels, including BBC1, BBC2, Channel 4 and Sky Sports and serves as a Patron and Trustee for a number of charities.
Suzanne Dando was born in Balham, London and spent her early years in Merstham Surrey. Aged 6, her parents moved to Uckfield, East Sussex where she spent her childhood. Suzanne has one sister. She studied at Uckfield Comprehensive and Catford Girls School.
Her gymnastics talent was first recognised at age eleven by her school physical education teacher Anne Billingham. She quickly passed all the BAGA awards and climbed onto the uneven bars for the first time when she was 12. In 1975 she had to leave her family home in Sussex and move to London to further her gymnastics career. She first represented her country at international level in 1976 aged just 15 where she competed for Britain against West Germany. After winning many National titles, in 1977 she was awarded a Sir Winston Churchill Scholarship Churchill Fellowship allowing her to spend time training in America in 1978. United States. She returned to America in early 1979, returning home in time to compete in the British Championships, unfortunately she sustained an injury and could not compete, which then ruled her out of the squad for the 1979 European Championships. On recovery, she went on to represent her country in the more competitive arena of the 1979 World Championships, Fort Worth, Dallas USA, gaining her F.I.G. Gold Pin.
In 1980, Dando won the 'Champion of Champions' title at the Royal Albert Hall. In May she became the Overall British National Champion. She led her teammates, Susan Cheesborough and Denise Jones, to the 1980 Olympics in Moscow. Dando improved dramatically on her standing (48th) following prelims, finishing 27th in the AA competition.
...
Wikipedia