British · Peterborough, England · Born 22 April 1989Louis Smith is a British former artistic gymnast and pommel horse specialist who won medals at three consecutive Olympic Games, ending Britain's century-long individual medal drought in the sport.
Three consecutive Olympic medals on the pommel horse across Beijing 2008, London 2012, and Rio 2016 made Louis Smith only the second gymnast in history to win successive medals on the same apparatus at three Games, and the first British gymnast to claim an individual Olympic gymnastics medal since Walter Tysall in 1908. He became a two-time European Junior champion on the pommel horse and won Commonwealth Games gold representing England in 2006, building a reputation as Britain's premier pommel horse specialist while still a teenager. At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Smith won bronze on the pommel horse — the first individual Olympic medal by a British gymnast since Walter Tysall in 1908, and a result that helped reignite British men's gymnastics as a genuine international force. He went one better at London 2012, taking silver on home soil after tying for the top score with Hungary's Krisztián Berki, who won gold on a tiebreak execution score, and adding a team bronze alongside teammates including Max Whitlock. Smith added a third individual Olympic medal — another pommel horse silver, this time behind training partner Max Whitlock — at Rio 2016, making him the first British gymnast to win medals at three consecutive Olympic Games and only the second gymnast in history, after Romania's Marius Urzică, to win three successive Olympic medals on the same apparatus. Across his career he also won four World Championship medals on pommel horse and became European champion in 2015. Away from the sport, Smith won the BBC's Strictly Come Dancing in 2012 and has become a prominent broadcaster and media personality since retiring from competitive gymnastics.
First British gymnast to win Olympic medals at three consecutive Games; ended Britain's century-long individual Olympic medal drought in gymnastics
How They Played
Pommel horse specialist renowned for technical precision and rhythm on the apparatus
Lasting Impact
Reignited British men's artistic gymnastics as an international force, paving the way for the success of Max Whitlock and the current generation
Career Honours
- Olympic bronze, pommel horse (2008)
- Olympic silver, pommel horse (2012, 2016)
- Olympic bronze, team (2012)
- European champion, pommel horse (2015)
- 4x World Championship medallist, pommel horse
British Athletes