{{short description|Australian artistic gymnast}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2020}} {{Use Australian English|date=April 2020}} {{Infobox gymnast | name = Emily Whitehead | image = | image_size = | caption = | fullname = | nickname = Em | country = {{GYM National Team|AUS|WAG}} | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|2000|12|11}} | birth_place = {{nowrap|Mornington, Victoria, Australia}} | hometown = | death_date = | death_place = | height = 162 cm<ref name="cg2018"/> | discipline = WAG | level = | natlteam = 2014–present | club = Waverley Gymnastics Centre | headcoach = John Hart | show-medals = yes | medaltemplates = <!-- see Template:MedalRelatedTemplates --> {{MedalCountry|{{AUS}}}} {{MedalCompetition|Commonwealth Games}} {{MedalSilver|2022 Birmingham|Team}} {{MedalBronze|2018 Gold Coast|Team}} {{MedalBronze|2018 Gold Coast|Vault}} {{MedalBronze|2022 Birmingham|Floor exercise}} {{MedalCompetition|FIG World Cup}} {{MedalCount |Apparatus World Cup|0|1|0 |total=no }} }}
'''Emily Whitehead''' (born 11 December 2000)<ref name="cg2018">{{cite web |title=Emily Whitehead |url=https://results.gc2018.com/en/artistic-gymnastics/athlete-profile-n6029346-emily-whitehead.htm |website=Gold Coast 2018 |accessdate=24 April 2020 |archive-date=30 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200530081758/https://results.gc2018.com/en/artistic-gymnastics/athlete-profile-n6029346-emily-whitehead.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> is an Australian artistic gymnast. At the 2018 Commonwealth Games, she won a bronze medal in the team event and on the vault. She represented Australia at the 2020 and 2024 Olympic Games and is a two-time Oceanic all-around champion (2021-22). She is the 2015 Australian junior national all-around champion and a three-time national all-around medalist at the senior level (2018, 2021-22). She won a silver medal on the vault at the 2018 Melbourne World Cup.
== Personal life == Whitehead was born in Mornington, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, and attended Mount Waverley Secondary College.<ref name="cgaus">{{cite web |title=Emily Whitehead |url=https://commonwealthgames.com.au/athletes/emily-whitehead/ |website=Commonwealth Games Australia |date=2 April 2018 |accessdate=24 April 2020}}</ref> She began gymnastics when she was four years old because her older sister was also a gymnast.<ref name="gaprofile">{{cite web |title=Emily Whitehead |url=https://www.gymnastics.org.au/GA/Ga/High_Performance/National_Team/Profiles/WAG/Emily_Whitehead.aspx |website=Gymnastics Australia |access-date=10 July 2022}}</ref>
Whitehead currently studies a Bachelor of Exercise and Sport Science at Deakin University.<ref>{{cite web |title=The 2024 Paris Olympics start this week! Meet the Deakin students representing Australia |url=https://blogs.deakin.edu.au/deakinlife/2024/07/23/the-2024-paris-olympics-start-this-week-meet-the-deakin-students-representing-australia/ |website=Deakin Life |date=23 July 2024 |publisher=Deakin University |access-date=29 August 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The 2022 Commonwealth Games begin this week: good luck to our elite-athlete students and alumni in Birmingham |url=https://blogs.deakin.edu.au/deakinlife/2022/07/25/the-2022-commonwealth-games-begin-this-week-good-luck-to-our-elite-athlete-students-and-alumni-in-birmingham/ |website=Deakin Life |date=25 July 2022 |publisher=Deakin University |access-date=27 July 2022}}</ref>
== Career == === Junior === Whitehead made her international debut at the 2014 City of Jesolo Trophy, helping the Australian team place fifth and finishing twenty-fourth in the all-around.<ref>{{cite web |title=USA sweeps medals in Jesolo |url=https://usagym.org/pages/post.html?PostID=13768 |website=USA Gymnastics |access-date=22 July 2022 |date=22 March 2014 |archive-date=20 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220920174223/https://usagym.org/pages/post.html?PostID=13768 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Then at the 2014 Pacific Rim Championships, she finished fifth with the team and qualified for the floor exercise final where she finished eighth.<ref>{{cite web |title=2014 Pacific Rim Championships April 9-12, 2014 – Richmond Olympic Oval Team Results |url=https://gymnasticsresults.com/archive/2014/am/can/pacificrimchamp/wagteams.pdf |website=Gymnastics Results |access-date=22 July 2022 |date=9 April 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=2014 Pacific Rim Championships April 9-12, 2014 – Richmond Olympic Oval Session WAG Junior Finals |url=https://gymnasticsresults.com/archive/2014/am/can/pacificrimchamp/wagjunaf.pdf |website=Gymnastics Results |access-date=22 July 2022 |pages=4 |date=11 April 2014}}</ref> Her final competition of the 2014 season was the Australian Championships held in Melbourne. She won a gold medal with the Victorian team and won the all-around silver medal behind teammate Alysha Djuric. She also won the gold medal on the balance beam and the bronze medal on the floor exercise, and she placed fifth on vault and fourth on uneven bars.<ref>{{cite web |title=2014 Australian Gymnastics Championships |url=https://wgc.org.au/2014-australian-gymnastics-championships/ |website=Waverley Gymnastics Centre |date=21 May 2014 |access-date=22 July 2022}}</ref>
Whitehead opened her 2015 season at the City of Jesolo Trophy placing fourth with the Australian team and in the uneven bars event final.<ref>{{cite web|title=Classifica risultati: Ginnastica Artistica Femminile Juniores|url=http://www.gymnasticsresults.com/2015/eu/ita/jesolo/junaf.pdf|website=Gymnastics Results|publisher=Italian Gymnastics Federation|accessdate=29 March 2015|language=Italian|date=29 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402135834/http://www.gymnasticsresults.com/2015/eu/ita/jesolo/junaf.pdf|archive-date=2 April 2015|url-status = dead}}</ref> Then at the Australian Championships, she won the all-around title in addition to the team, uneven bars, and floor exercise titles. She also won the silver medal on the balance beam behind Talia Folino and the bronze medal on the vault.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Hopkins |first1=Lauren |title=2015 Australian Championships Results |url=https://thegymter.net/2015/05/20/2015-australian-championships-results/ |website=The Gymternet |access-date=22 July 2022 |date=20 May 2015}}</ref> The final meet of her junior career was the Junior Japan International held in Yokohama. She only competed on the uneven bars and did not advance into the event final.<ref>{{cite web |title=2015 International Junior Gymnastics Competition Results |url=https://gymnasticsresults.com/archive/2015/as/jpn/yokohama/wagaq.pdf |website=Gymnastics Results |publisher=Japan Gymnastics Association |access-date=22 July 2022 |date=22 September 2015}}</ref>
=== Senior === Whitehead became age-eligible for senior competition in 2016. She was initially selected to represent Australia at the 2016 Olympic Test Event in its effort to qualify a team spot for the 2016 Olympic Games.<ref>{{cite web |title=12 things that happened in Gymnastics this week |url=https://www.gymnastics.sport/site/news/displaynews.php?urlNews=1476907 |website=International Gymnastics Federation |access-date=10 July 2022 |date=16 March 2016}}</ref> However, during podium training at the 2016 Pacific Rim Championships, she tore her calf muscle and had to withdraw from the team and Olympic selection.<ref name="cg2018" /><ref name="aocprofile">{{cite web |title=Emily Whitehead |url=https://www.olympics.com.au/olympians/emily-whitehead/ |website=Australian Olympic Committee |access-date=10 July 2022}}</ref><ref name="olympicqualifier"/> At the 2016 Australian Championships, she only competed on the uneven bars and won the silver medal behind Rianna Mizzen in addition to a team gold medal with Victoria.<ref>{{cite web |title=16AGC WAG JR & SR Apparatus Final Part 1 WAG Senior International Apparatus Finals - Bars |url=https://gymnasticsresults.com/archive/2016/aus/champ/wagsenaf2ub.pdf |website=Gymnastics Results |publisher=Gymnastics Australia |access-date=22 July 2022 |date=28 May 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=16AGC WAG CI |url=https://gymnasticsresults.com/archive/2016/aus/champ/wagsenteams.pdf |website=Gymnastics Results |publisher=Gymnastics Australia |access-date=22 July 2022 |date=27 May 2016}}</ref>
Whitehead returned to all-around competition at the 2017 American Cup in Newark, New Jersey where she finished seventh with a total score of 48.399.<ref>{{cite web |title=Yul Moldauer, Ragan Smith swing to American Cup titles |url=https://www.gymnastics.sport/site/news/displaynews.php?urlNews=1745445 |website=International Gymnastics Federation |access-date=10 July 2022 |date=6 March 2017}}</ref> At the 2017 International Gymnix, she won a silver medal on the uneven bars behind Japan's Hitomi Hatakeda and also placed seventh with the team, tenth in the all-around, and seventh on the floor exercise.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Hopkins |first1=Lauren |title=2017 International Gymnix Results |url=https://thegymter.net/2017/03/10/2017-international-gymnix-results/ |website=The Gymternet |access-date=22 July 2022 |date=10 March 2017}}</ref>
Whitehead won the silver medal on the vault at the 2018 Melbourne World Cup behind Slovenia's Tjaša Kysselef, the first World Cup medal of her career.<ref>{{cite web |title=2018 World Cup Gymnastics Finals Day 1 - Vault |url=https://gymnasticsresults.com/results/2018/melbourne-world-cup/documents/wagaf1vt.pdf |website=Gymnastics Results |access-date=7 November 2021 |date=24 February 2018}}</ref> She was selected to represent Australia at the 2018 Commonwealth Games alongside Georgia-Rose Brown, Alexandra Eade, Rianna Mizzen, and Georgia Godwin, and they won the bronze medal in the team event behind England and Canada. She won the bronze medal in the vault final behind Canadians Shallon Olsen and Ellie Black.<ref>{{cite web |title=Artistic Gymnastics Women's Vault Final |url=https://results.gc2018.com/resCG2018-/pdf/CG2018-/GAR/CG2018-_GAR_C73J_GARW1APVT-------------FNL---------.pdf |website=Gold Coast 2018 |access-date=7 November 2021 |date=8 April 2018 |archive-date=7 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211107185239/https://results.gc2018.com/resCG2018-/pdf/CG2018-/GAR/CG2018-_GAR_C73J_GARW1APVT-------------FNL---------.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> She also competed in the balance beam final and finished fifth.<ref>{{cite web |title=Artistic Gymnastics Women's Balance Beam Final |url=https://results.gc2018.com/resCG2018-/pdf/CG2018-/GAR/CG2018-_GAR_C73I_GARW1APBB-------------FNL---------.pdf |website=Gold Coast 2018 |access-date=22 July 2022 |date=9 April 2018 |archive-date=9 April 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180409162011/https://results.gc2018.com/resCG2018-/pdf/CG2018-/GAR/CG2018-_GAR_C73I_GARW1APBB-------------FNL---------.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> At the Australian Championships, she won the silver medal in the all-around behind Georgia Godwin and also took home team gold. She also won the gold medal on vault, the silver medal on floor exercise, the bronze medal on balance beam, and placed fourth on uneven bars.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Hopkins |first1=Lauren |title=2018 Australian Championships Results |url=https://thegymter.net/2018/05/30/2018-australian-championships-results/ |website=The Gymternet |access-date=22 July 2022 |date=30 May 2018}}</ref> Then in September at the Australian Classic, she won the all-around bronze medal behind Georgia-Rose Brown and Rianna Mizzen. She also won the silver medal on the floor exercise and placed fourth on the uneven bars and balance beam.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Hopkins |first1=Lauren |title=2018 Australian Classic Results |url=https://thegymter.net/2018/09/20/2018-australian-classic-results/ |website=The Gymternet |access-date=22 July 2022 |date=20 September 2018}}</ref> She then competed at the 2018 World Championships in Doha alongside Georgia-Rose Brown, Alexandra Eade, Emma Nedov, and Erin Modaro, and the team finished fifteenth in the qualification round.<ref>{{cite web |title=48th Artistic Gymnastics World Championships Doha (QAT), 25 October - 3 November 2018 Women's Team Qualification |url=https://usagym.org/PDFs/Results/w_18worlds_teamqual.pdf |website=USA Gymnastics |publisher=International Gymnastics Federation |access-date=22 July 2022 |pages=4 |date=27 October 2018 |archive-date=20 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221120080923/https://usagym.org/PDFs/Results/w_18worlds_teamqual.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>
Whitehead began her 2019 season at the Australian Championships and finished fourth in the all-around, uneven bars, balance beam and ninth in the floor exercise.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Hopkins |first1=Lauren |title=2019 Australian Championships Results |url=https://thegymter.net/2019/05/27/2019-australian-championships-results/ |website=The Gymternet |access-date=22 July 2022 |date=27 May 2019}}</ref> Then at the FIT Challenge in Ghent, the Australian team won the silver medal behind the Netherlands, and Whitehead placed seventh in the all-around.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Hopkins |first1=Lauren |title=2019 FIT Challenge Results |url=https://thegymter.net/2019/06/10/2019-fit-challenge-results/ |website=The Gymternet |access-date=22 July 2022 |date=10 June 2019}}</ref> In August 2019, she sustained fractures in both sides of her back, leaving her out of the gym for three months and ending her 2019 season.<ref name="cgaus"/><ref name="fig">{{cite web |title=Emily Whitehead |url=https://www.gymnastics.sport/site/athletes/bio_detail.php?id=41757 |website=International Gymnastics Federation |access-date=10 July 2022}}</ref> She did not compete in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Coverdale |first1=Gus |title=Emily Whitehead: The Oceania Continental Champion |url=https://vic.gymnastics.org.au/VIC/Posts/News_Articles/2021/June/Emily_Whitehead__The_Oceania_Continental_Champion_.aspx |website=Gymnastics Victoria |access-date=10 July 2022}}</ref>
Whitehead won the all-around gold medal at the 2021 Oceanic Championships and earned a continental quota spot for the 2020 Olympics.<ref name="olympicqualifier">{{cite web|last1=Hopkins|first1=Lauren|url=https://thegymter.net/2021/05/21/whitehead-overcomes-injury-to-earn-olympics-berth-koudinov-set-for-second-games/|title= Whitehead Overcomes Injury to Earn Olympics Berth; Koudinov Set for Second Games|work=The Gymternet|date=21 May 2021|access-date=10 July 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Courageous acts, historic results defined Women's Artistic Gymnastics in 2021 |url=https://www.gymnastics.sport/site/news/displaynews.php?urlNews=3401613 |website=International Gymnastics Federation |access-date=10 July 2022 |date=31 December 2021}}</ref> Then at the 2021 Australian Championships, she won the all-around silver medal behind Georgia Godwin. She also won the uneven bars and floor exercise silver medals and placed fourth on the balance beam.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Hopkins |first1=Lauren |title=2021 Australian Championships Results |url=https://thegymter.net/2021/05/23/2021-australian-championships-results/ |website=The Gymternet |access-date=22 July 2022 |date=23 May 2021}}</ref> She represented Australia at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo alongside teammate Georgia Godwin. In the qualification round, Whitehead finished forty-fourth in the all-around with a total score of 52.298 and did not advance into any finals.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Knaus |first1=Shannon |title=Godwin and Whitehead's Olympic Dream Realised |url=https://www.olympics.com.au/news/godwin-and-whiteheads-olympic-dream-realised/ |website=Australian Olympic Committee |access-date=10 July 2022 |date=26 July 2021}}</ref>
Whitehead began her 2022 season at the DTB Pokal Team Challenge in Stuttgart where Australia won the bronze medal behind the United States and Italy.<ref>{{cite web |title=U.S. women top the junior, senior DTB Pokal Team Challenge podiums on Day 2 of competition |url=https://usagym.org/pages/post.html?PostID=27140 |website=USA Gymnastics |access-date=22 July 2022 |date=19 March 2022}}</ref> In the event finals, she won the bronze medal on the floor exercise behind Angela Andreoli and Konnor McClain and also placed fourth on the balance beam.<ref>{{cite web |title=U.S. women collect six individual medals as 2022 DTB Pokal Team Challenge concludes |url=https://usagym.org/pages/post.html?PostID=27149 |website=USA Gymnastics |access-date=22 July 2022 |date=20 March 2022}}</ref> Then at the Australian Championships, she won the all-around silver medal behind Georgia Godwin. She also won gold on floor exercise and bronze on balance beam, and she placed fourth on the uneven bars.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Hopkins |first1=Lauren |title=2022 Australian Championships Results |url=https://thegymter.net/2022/05/23/2022-australian-championships-results/ |website=The Gymternet |access-date=22 July 2022 |date=23 May 2022}}</ref> She defended her all-around title at the 2022 Oceania Championships and also won team, vault, and floor exercise gold, silver on uneven bars, and bronze on balance beam.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Hopkins |first1=Lauren |title=2022 Oceania Championships Results |url=https://thegymter.net/2022/05/25/2022-oceania-championships-results/ |website=The Gymternet |access-date=22 July 2022 |date=25 May 2022}}</ref> She was then selected to represent Australia at the 2022 Commonwealth Games alongside Romi Brown, Georgia Godwin, Kate McDonald, and Breanna Scott.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Vaughn |first1=Roger |title=Bull has big gymnastics win ahead of Games |url=https://www.westernadvocate.com.au/story/7786840/bull-has-big-gymnastics-win-ahead-of-games/ |website=Western Advocate |publisher=Australian Associated Press |access-date=22 July 2022 |date=20 June 2022}}</ref>
In June 2024 Whitehead was named to the Australian team to compete at the 2024 Olympic Games alongside Kate McDonald, Emma Nedov, Ruby Pass, and Breanna Scott.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.news.com.au/sport/olympics/largest-australian-gymnastics-team-ever-named-for-paris-olympics/news-story/1fe6835739d083979db52970d824d3c8|title=Largest Australian gymnastics team ever named for Paris Olympics|work=News.com.au|date=June 18, 2024}}</ref>
== Competitive history == {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:95%;" |- |+Competitive history of Emily Whitehead at the junior level |- ! scope="col" align=center|Year ! scope="col" align=center|Event ! scope="col" style="width:30px;"|{{Abbr|Team|Team event}} ! scope="col" style="width:30px;"|{{Abbr|AA|All-around}} ! scope="col" style="width:30px;"|{{Abbr|VT|Vault}} ! scope="col" style="width:30px;"|{{Abbr|UB|Uneven bars}} ! scope="col" style="width:30px;"|{{Abbr|BB|Balance beam}} ! scope="col" style="width:30px;"|{{Abbr|FX|Floor exercise}} |- ! scope="rowgroup" rowspan="3" | '''2014''' | align=left | City of Jesolo Trophy || 5 || 24 || || || || |- | align=left | Pacific Rim Championships || 5 || || || || 8 |- | align=left | Australian Championships || {{gold1}} || {{silver2}} || 5 || 4 || {{gold1}} || {{bronze3}} |- ! scope="rowgroup" rowspan="2" | '''2015''' | align=left | City of Jesolo Trophy || 4 || || || 4 || || |- | align=left | Australian Championships || {{gold1}} || {{gold1}} || {{bronze3}} || {{gold1}} || {{silver2}} || {{gold1}} |}
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:95%;" |- |+Competitive history of Emily Whitehead at the senior level |- ! scope="col" align=center|Year ! scope="col" align=center|Event ! scope="col" style="width:30px;"|{{Abbr|Team|Team event}} ! scope="col" style="width:30px;"|{{Abbr|AA|All-around}} ! scope="col" style="width:30px;"|{{Abbr|VT|Vault}} ! scope="col" style="width:30px;"|{{Abbr|UB|Uneven bars}} ! scope="col" style="width:30px;"|{{Abbr|BB|Balance beam}} ! scope="col" style="width:30px;"|{{Abbr|FX|Floor exercise}} |- ! scope="rowgroup" rowspan="1" | '''2016''' | align=left | Australian Championships || {{gold1}} || || || {{gold1}} || || |- ! scope="rowgroup" rowspan="2" | '''2017''' | align=left | American Cup || || 7 || || || || |- | align=left | International Gymnix || 7 || 10 || || {{silver2}} || || 7 |- ! scope="rowgroup" rowspan="5" | '''2018''' | align=left | Melbourne World Cup || || || {{silver2}} || || || |-bgcolor="#afeeee" | align=left | Commonwealth Games || {{bronze3}} || || {{bronze3}} || || 5 || |- | align=left | Australian Championships || {{gold1}} || {{silver2}} || {{gold1}} || 4 || {{bronze3}} || {{silver2}} |- | align=left | Australian Classic || || {{bronze3}} || || 4 || 4 || {{silver2}} |-style="background:#ccf;" | align=left | World Championships || ''15'' || || || || || |- ! scope="rowgroup" rowspan="2" | '''2019''' | align=left | Australian Championships || || 4 || || 4 || 4 || 9 |- | align=left | FIT Challenge || {{silver2}} || 7 || || || || |- ! scope="rowgroup" rowspan="3" | '''2021''' | align=left | Oceanic Championships || || {{gold1}} || || || || |- | align=left | Australian Championships || || {{silver2}} || || {{silver2}} || 4 || {{silver2}} |-style="background:#98FB98;" | align=left | '''Olympic Games''' || || ''44'' || || || || |- ! scope="rowgroup" rowspan="4" | '''2022''' | align=left | DTB Pokal Team Challenge || {{bronze3}} || || || || 4 || {{bronze3}} |- | align=left | Australian Championships || || {{silver2}} || || 4 || {{bronze3}} || {{gold1}} |- | align=left | Oceanic Championships || {{gold1}} || {{gold1}} || {{gold1}} || {{silver2}} || {{bronze3}} || {{gold1}} |- bgcolor="#afeeee" | align=left | Commonwealth Games || {{silver2}} || 12 || 8 || || || {{bronze3}} |- ! scope="rowgroup" rowspan="2" | '''2023''' |- bgcolor=#CCCCFF | align=left | World Championships || ''9'' || || || || || |- ! scope="rowgroup" rowspan="2" | '''2024''' | align=left | DTB Pokal Team Challenge || {{silver2}} || || || || || |- bgcolor=98FB98 | align=left | '''Olympic Games''' || ''10'' || || || || || |- ! scope="rowgroup" rowspan="1" | '''2026''' | align=left | Oceanic Championships || {{gold1}} || {{gold1}} || || || || |}
==References== {{Reflist}}
== External links == * {{Sports links|properties=-P2696}} * {{Instagram}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Whitehead, Emily}} Category:2000 births Category:Living people Category:Australian female artistic gymnasts Category:Gymnasts at the 2018 Commonwealth Games Category:Gymnasts at the 2022 Commonwealth Games Category:Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for Australia Category:Commonwealth Games bronze medallists in gymnastics Category:Commonwealth Games gymnasts for Australia Category:Gymnasts at the 2020 Summer Olympics Category:Olympic gymnasts for Australia Category:Sportswomen from Victoria (state) Category:Gymnasts from Melbourne Category:21st-century Australian sportswomen Category:Commonwealth Games silver medallists for Australia Category:Commonwealth Games silver medallists in gymnastics Category:People from Mornington, Victoria Category:Medallists at the 2018 Commonwealth Games Category:Medallists at the 2022 Commonwealth Games Category:Gymnasts at the 2024 Summer Olympics