Kate Howey

{{short description|British judoka (born 1973)}} {{Use British English|date=August 2011}} {{Use dmy dates|date=August 2022}} {{Infobox judoka | name = Kate Howey | honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|MBE}} | image =  | image_size =  | alt = | caption = | full_name = Kate Louise Howey | nationality = British (English) | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1973|5|31|df=y}} | birth_place = Andover, Hampshire, England | height =  | country = Great Britain | weight_class = –66 kg, –70 kg, –72 kg | rank =  | rank_ref = | dan =  | club =  | worlds_rank = 1 | worlds_year = 1997 | worlds_weight = Women's 66 kg | regionals_type = EU | regionals_rank = 2 | regionals_year = 1990 | regionals_weight = Women's 66 kg | regionals_year2 = 1991 | regionals_weight2 = Women's 66 kg | regionals_year3 = 2000 | regionals_weight3 = Women's 70 kg | nationals = | olympics_rank = 2 | olympics_year = 2000 | olympics_weight = Women's 70 kg  | show-medals = | medaltemplates = {{Medal|Sport| Women's judo }} {{Medal|Country| {{GBR2}} }} {{Medal|Competition| Olympic Games }} {{Medal|S| 2000 Sydney | {{nbnd}}70 kg }} {{Medal|B| 1992 Barcelona | {{nbnd}}66 kg }} {{Medal|Competition| World Championships }} {{Medal|G| 1997 Paris | {{nbnd}}66 kg }} {{Medal|S| 1993 Hamilton | {{nbnd}}72 kg }} {{Medal|S| 2001 Munich | {{nbnd}}70 kg }} {{Medal|B| 1991 Barcelona | {{nbnd}}66 kg }} {{Medal|B| 1999 Birmingham | {{nbnd}}70 kg }} {{Medal|Competition| European Championships }} {{Medal|S| 1990 Frankfurt | {{nbnd}}66 kg }} {{Medal|S| 1991 Prague | {{nbnd}}66 kg }} {{Medal|S| 2000 Wrocław | {{nbnd}}70 kg }} {{Medal|B| 1993 Athens | {{nbnd}}72 kg }} {{Medal|B| 1994 Gdansk | {{nbnd}}72 kg }} {{Medal|B| 1995 Birmingham | {{nbnd}}72 kg }} {{Medal|B| 1997 Oostende | {{nbnd}}66 kg }} {{Medal|B| 1998 Oviedo | {{nbnd}}70 kg }} {{Medal|Competition| World Juniors Championships }} {{Medal|G| 1990 Dijon | {{nbnd}}66 kg }} {{Medal|Competition| European Junior Championships }} {{Medal|G| 1989 Athens | {{nbnd}}66 kg }} {{Medal|G| 1990 Ankara | {{nbnd}}66 kg }} {{Medal|G| 1991 Pieksämäki | {{nbnd}}66 kg }} {{Medal|Competition| Summer Universiade }} {{Medal|B| 1999 Palma de Mallorca | {{nbnd}}70 kg }} | updated = 2 June 2023 }}

'''Kate Louise Howey''' {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|MBE}} (born 31 May 1973 in Andover, Hampshire, England) is a former elite British judoka.<ref name=JI>{{cite web|url=https://www.judoinside.com/judoka/321/Kate_Howey/judo-career |title=Kate Howey profile |website=Judo Inside |access-date=21 August 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite Sports-Reference}}</ref> She remains the only British woman to have won two Olympic judo medals (silver at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, and bronze at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona) and shares with fellow Olympic medalist Karina Bryant the record of being the only British judoka to have competed at four Olympic Games.{{citation needed|date=March 2024}}

==Biography== Howey was born in Andover, Hampshire, and took up judo at the age of seven.<ref>[https://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/3957843.stm BBC Sport, "Olympic judo star Howey retires", 27 October 2004. Retrieved 2 August 2012]</ref> In 1989, she became champion of Great Britain, winning the middleweight (66 kg) division at the British Judo Championships.<ref name=BJC>{{cite web|url=https://www.judoinside.com/event/search?EventSearch%5Btype%5D=4&EventSearch%5Bname%5D=&EventSearch%5Byear%5D=&EventSearch%5Bcity%5D=&EventSearch%5Bcountry%5D=ENG&yt0=Hajime&q=&q1=&EventSearch%5Btype%5D=&EventSearch%5Bname%5D=british+championship&EventSearch%5Byear%5D=&EventSearch%5Bcity%5D=&EventSearch%5Bcountry%5D=&yt0=Hajime&q=&q1=|title=British Championships – Event results |website=Judo Inside |access-date=21 August 2022}}</ref> The following year in 1990, she won her first international medal when taking a silver medal at the 1990 European Judo Championships in Frankfurt.<ref name=JI/>

In 1991, she won the bronze medal at the 1991 World Judo Championships, in Barcelona and the silver medal at the 1991 European Judo Championships in Prague. The year 1992 saw her first of four appearances at the Olympic Games. In the women's 66 kg she reached the semi-finals only to lose out to eventual gold medal winner Odalis Revé, however she managed to win the repechage to claim a bronze medal. In 1993, she won her third consecutive (and fourth) British title.<ref name=BJC/>

Howey continued to participate in most major championships, winning a World championship silver and European championship bronze in 1993 at the heavier weight of 72 kg, and two more bronze medals at the 1994 European Judo Championships and 1995 European Judo Championships.<ref name=JI/>

In 1996, Howey was selected for her second Olympic Games reaching the quarter-finals where she was defeated by eventual silver medalist Yoko Tanabe of Japan. Howey recorded her best result in 1997 following a drop back down in weight category to 66 kg. At the 1997 World Judo Championships in Paris, she won the gold medal after defeating Anja von Rekowski in the final.<ref name=JI/> She won another European bronze in 1997.<ref name=bbc>{{cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/3957843.stm |title=Olympic judo star Howey retires |date=27 October 2004 |publisher=BBC Sport |access-date=21 August 2022}}</ref>

After a seventh European Championships medal and a fifth British title in 1998, she trained at the University of Bath. In 1999, she was unable to retain her World title but gained compensation with a bronze medal<ref name=JI/> and the following year she won a European silver in May, before she went to her third Olympics. At the 2000 Summer Olympics she competed in the women's 70 kg and performed superbly reaching the final where she lost out to Sibelis Veranes for the gold medal. In 2001, she won a silver medal at the 2001 World Judo Championships, in Munich<ref name=JI/> and won her sixth and final British title in 2002.<ref name=BJC/> Also in 2002 she was left out of the Commonwealth Games squad in favour of Samantha Lowe and would never get the opportunity to take part in a Commonwealth Games. Howey was shocked at her omission and would likely have won gold but Lowe did go on to win gold for England.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/general/judo-howey-stunned-as-lowe-wins-commonwealth-games-place-190531.html |title=Judo: Howey stunned as Lowe wins Commonwealth Games place |website=The Independent|date=29 May 2002 |access-date=21 August 2022}}</ref> Her final major appearance was at the 2004 Summer Olympics, in Athens, where she was honored to bear the national flag at the opening ceremony. She announced her retirement from competition on 27 October 2004,<ref name=bbc/> having competed for 16 years. Following her retirement, she continued as a coach (Head Coach 2018) for the British Judo Association, she coached Gemma Gibbons to silver at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, ending her nation's wait for an Olympic medal in the sport that had stretched back to her own silver in 2000. By contrast, having waited 12 years for Olympic medal, only 24 hours later, her now-veteran former teammate, Karina Bryant also won a bronze medal.<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/olympics/19100421 BBC Sport: "London 2012: Gemma Gibbons, a profile of a judo star", 2 August 2012. Retrieved 2 August 2012]</ref>

In June 2025 Howey, one of the most decorated judoka in British Judo history, was announced as British Judo's new Performance Director of the World Class Performance Programme (WCPP).<ref>{{Cite web |last=Comms |first=B. J. A. |date=2025-06-27 |title=Kate Howey MBE Appointed Performance Director |url=https://www.britishjudo.org.uk/kate-howey-mbe-appointed-performance-director/ |access-date=2025-07-15 |website=British Judo Association |language=en-GB}}</ref>

==Recognition== Howey was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for services to judo in the 1999 Birthday Honours.<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=55513 |date=12 June 1999 |pages=18 |supp=y }}</ref>

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== * {{Sports links}}  * {{The-Sports}} * {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051120081525/http://www.olympics.org.uk/athens/team_gb_cat.asp?AthleteID=159&AthleteID_Detail=159&SportNameId=14 |date=20 November 2005 |title=Kate Howey's page on the British Olympic Association website }}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Howey, Kate}} Category:1973 births Category:Sportspeople from Andover, Hampshire Category:Living people Category:English female judoka Category:Judoka at the 1992 Summer Olympics Category:Judoka at the 1996 Summer Olympics Category:Judoka at the 2000 Summer Olympics Category:Judoka at the 2004 Summer Olympics Category:Members of the Order of the British Empire Category:Olympic judoka for Great Britain Category:Olympic silver medallists for Great Britain Category:Olympic bronze medallists for Great Britain Category:Olympic medalists in judo Category:Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Category:Medalists at the 1992 Summer Olympics Category:Summer World University Games medalists in judo Category:FISU World University Games bronze medalists for Great Britain Category:Team Bath athletes Category:Medalists at the 1999 Summer Universiade Category:21st-century English sportswomen Category:20th-century English sportswomen