- CHRIS & GABBY ADCOCK
The Adcocks will be hoping to make Great Britain proud when they step out to compete in the mixed doubles event in Badminton at the Rio Olympics. The couple has already made a lot of history, becoming the first ever husband-and-wife Badminton duo to win the Commonwealth mixed doubles at the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games.
The pair got married in 2013, having known each other right from their childhood, competing on the national age group circuit. A few years ago, the duo was paired together but the partnership didn’t last, and Chris went on to pair with Imogen Bankier at the London 2012 Games. However, they were defeated in the first round and Chris once again paired up with Gabby after the Games.
They have gone on to become among the Top 10 in the world, and would be medal contenders in Rio, having ended 2015 on a high note after becoming the first Britons to win the Dubai World Superseries Finals, which is badminton’s equivalent of tennis’s ATP World Tour Finals. They beat Korean pair Ko Sung-hyun and Kim Ha-na to win the title in Dubai.
Speaking about their incredible partnership, Gabby, 25 says, “It’s about knowing each other inside out. We’re so used to being together, 24/7 we have total trust. We know we are going to work our socks off for each other.” Chris, 26, adds: “We were in a partnership on court long before we were in one off court, so we’re well used to it.”
Great Britain has already won two Olympic medals in the mixed doubles. Simon Archer and Joanne Goode took Bronze at Sydney 2000, while Gail Emms and Nathan Robertson won Silver in Athens four years. The Adcocks will be aiming for GOLD at Rio 2016.
