Louis Smith MBE
Areas of Interest
SportsHonorary Award
Honorary Doctor of Health Sciences, 2013Biography
Louis Smith is a British gymnast specialising in the pommel horse who will be familiar to us not only for his success at the 2012 Olympics, but also for winning Strictly Come Dancing in 2012. He lives in Peterborough and is a member of Huntingdon Gymnastics Club.In 2004, at the age of 15, he became Junior European Champion. He repeated that success two years later in 2006, when he also became Commonwealth Champion, going on to win Gold for Team GB at the 2007 Australian Youth Olympic Festival in Sydney.
Then came the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and Louis' first adult Olympic challenge. He met this well by taking home a bronze medal, making him only the second black male gymnast to win a medal in an Olympic competition. At London 2012, Louis' nineteen long years of training had come down to a single 50-second routine on the pommel horse. He took silver for Great Britain, the first time an individual British gymnast had won an Olympic medal in over 100 years. Louis was also part of the bronze-medal-winning men's gymnastics team.
Louis is also a four-time European Championships silver-medal winner, taking his first as a senior in Milan in 2009, before taking both the individual and team silvers in 2010. Another silver came at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Rotterdam in 2010, and a bronze the following year in Tokyo - the only medal won by the British team at the 2011 championships. Then, in 2012 he captained what became the first-ever British men's team to win a European Gold Medal, also taking Silver in the individual pommel horse.
His television career blossomed considerably when he won the 2012 series of BBC's Strictly Come Dancing with his partner, Flavia Cacace. He was back on TV earlier this year when he joined his coach to participate in ITV's Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? Best of Friends Special amongst many other television appearances.
On top of all this, Louis has published an autobiography: Louis: My Story So Far, in which he describes his transformation from "a troublesome kid whose appetite for mischief knew no bounds", to Britain's most successful gymnast ever.
Louis was appointed an MBE in the 2013 New Year Honours for services to gymnastics.
Citation
"Vice Chancellor, it is my pleasure to read the citation for Louis Smith MBE for the award of Doctor of Health Sciences honoris causa.
Louis Smith is a British gymnast specialising in the pommel horse who will be familiar to us not only for his success at the 2012 Olympics, but also for winning Strictly Come Dancing in 2012. He lives in Peterborough and is a member of Huntingdon Gymnastics Club.
Diagnosed at an early age with ADHD, Louis began gymnastics classes at the age of four as a way to positively release his energy. His talent was spotted almost immediately, and so began years of gruelling training. The effort began to pay off in 2004 when, at the age of 15, he became Junior European Champion. He repeated that success two years later in 2006, when he also became Commonwealth Champion, going on to win Gold for Team GB at the 2007 Australian Youth Olympic Festival in Sydney.
Louis had already caught the Olympic bug two years earlier, however in 2005 he was sitting in his bedroom at home, watching TV before training, when the Olympic Games were awarded to London. His first thought was how amazing it would be to compete in a home games, and from that moment on London 2012 became his driving goal.
But first came the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and Louis' first adult Olympic challenge. He met this well by taking home a bronze medal, making him only the second black male gymnast to win a medal in an Olympic competition.
And then came the big one - London 2012. Louis' nineteen long years of training had come down to a single 50-second routine on the pommel horse. So it was that, in under a minute, he took silver for Great Britain, the first time an individual British gymnast had won an Olympic medal in over 100 years. Louis was also part of the bronze-medal-winning men's gymnastics team.
Louis is also a four-time European Championships silver-medal winner, taking his first as a senior in Milan in 2009, despite a broken thumb, before taking both the individual and team silvers in 2010. Another silver came at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Rotterdam in 2010, and a bronze the following year in Tokyo - the only medal won by the British team at the 2011 championships. Then, in 2012 he captained what became the first-ever British men's team to win a European Gold Medal, also taking Silver in the individual pommel horse.
Throughout all these achievements, for over 16 years Louis has remained with his original coach, Paul Hall.
Away from gymnastics, Louis auditioned for The X Factor in 2008, but says he now only sings in the shower and the car. However, his television career blossomed considerably when - no stranger to Lycra - he won the 2012 series of BBC's Strictly Come Dancing with his partner, Flavia Cacace. He was back on TV earlier this year when he joined his coach to participate in ITV's Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? Best of Friends Special amongst many other television appearances.
On top of all this, Louis has just published an autobiography: Louis: My Story So Far, in which he describes his transformation from "a troublesome kid whose appetite for mischief knew no bounds", to Britain's most successful gymnast ever. Despite still being only 24, Louis offers this sage advice: "Set yourself clear, achievable goals, and go for them: success comes with hard work, discipline and self-motivation."
Louis was appointed an MBE in the 2013 New Year Honours for services to gymnastics.
Vice Chancellor, for proving that commitment and determination can take you where you want to go, it is my pleasure to present Louis Smith MBE for the award of Doctor of Health Sciences, honoris causa."