Shannon Archer

Shannon Archer
Born	(1998-07-29) 29 July 1998 (age 26) Edinburgh, Scotland
Hometown	Uphall, West Lothian
Gymnastics career
Discipline	Women's artistic gymnastics
Years on national team	2010–2024 (SCO) 2010–2013, 2022 (GBR)
Club	South Essex
Head coach(es)	Ross Falsetta
Medal record Representing   Scotland Commonwealth Games 2022 Birmingham Vault Northern European Championships 2017 Tórshavn Team
Education	Edinburgh Napier University

Shannon Archer (born 29 July 1998 in Edinburgh) is a Scottish artistic gymnast. She was the first Scottish gymnast to win a medal in women's artistic gymnastics at the Commonwealth Games, earning a bronze on vault in 2022.

Early life

Archer was born in 1998 in Edinburgh. Her mother, Wendy Purdie, was a Scottish indoor lawn bowls player. ^[1] Archer earned a Bachelor of Science in Developing Athletes Through Professional Practice from Edinburgh Napier University. ^[2]

Gymnastics career

Archer made her international debut for Scotland at the 2011 Commonwealth Youth Games where she helped Scotland finish fourth as a team. ^[2] In 2017, Archer won her first senior national title and helped Scotland win the bronze medal at the Northern European Championships. ^{[3] [4]}

Archer competed at the 2018 Commonwealth Games where she helped Scotland finish fifth as a team. ^[5] Individually she finished tenth in the all-around and fifth on vault.

In 2020, Archer moved started training at the South Essex Gymnastics Club. ^[6] She reclaimed the Scottish national title in 2021 and successfully defended it the following year. ^{[2] [7]}

Archer competed at the 2022 Commonwealth Games where she helped Scotland finish sixth as a team. During the all-around competition she finished eighth. During the vault final Archer finished third behind Georgia Godwin of Australia and Laurie Denommée of Canada, earning herself the bronze medal. In doing so Archer became the first Scottish female artistic gymnast to win a medal at the Commonwealth Games. ^{[8] [9] [10] [11]}

Competitive history

Year	Event	Team	AA	VT	UB	BB	FX
2011	Commonwealth Youth Games	4				7	6
2015	Scottish Championships		4		4	5
	British Team Championships	5	11
	Northern European Championships			7
2016	Scottish Championships
	International Gymnix (Challenge)		20
	British Team Championships	7	23
	British Championships		11	5		6
	Northern European Championships	5		7			4
	Mälarcupen
2017	Scottish Championships
	British Championships		13	5
	British Team Championships	4	12
	Northern European Championships			4
2018	Scottish Championships					7
	British Championships		17	8		8
	Commonwealth Games	5	10	5
2019	British Team Championships	10	10
2021	Scottish Championships
2022	Scottish Championships			8
	English Championships (guest)					4
	Commonwealth Games	6	8		8
2024	Scottish Championships					7

References

1. "Team Scotland: Shannon Archer". Team Scotland .
2. "Shannon Archer announces retirement". Scottish Gymnastics. 31 January 2024.
3. "2017 Scottish Championships Results". The Gymternet. 5 March 2017.
4. "2017 Northern European Championships Results". The Gymternet. 21 October 2017.
5. "Artistic Gymnastics | Athlete Profile: Shannon ARCHER - Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games". results.gc2018.com. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
6. "Olympic legacy of Essex club inspires new generation of gymnasts". BBC News. 16 July 2022. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
7. "Shannon Archer". The Gymternet. 9 March 2022. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
8. Sommerville, Stuart (30 September 2022). "West Lothian tributes to sporting heroes after Commonwealth Games success". edinburghlive. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
9. "'I just started crying' - Shannon Archer ends Scotland's 44-year wait for artistic gynmastic medal at Commonwealth Games". www.scotsman.com. 1 August 2022. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
10. "Archer makes history with vault bronze". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
11. Carson, Callum (2 August 2022). "West Lothian gymnast reflects on historic Commonwealth Games medal". Daily Record. Retrieved 2 October 2022.

External links

• Shannon Archer at the International Gymnastics Federation
• Shannon Archer at Team Scotland
• Shannon Archer at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games