Judy Simpson

Judith Earline Veronica Simpson (née Livermore; born 14 November 1960) is a British former heptathlete who competed at three Olympic Games. She went on to appear as Nightshade in the TV show Gladiators between 1993 and 1996.

Judy Simpson
Personal information
Birth nameJudith Earline Veronica Livermore
Born (1960-11-14) 14 November 1960
Kingston, Jamaica
Sport
SportHeptathlon and 100m hurdles
ClubRugby & District AC, Rugby
Birchfield Harriers, Birmingham
Medal record
Women's Athletics
Representing  England
Commonwealth Games
Gold medal – first place 1986 Edinburgh Heptathlon
Silver medal – second place 1982 Brisbane Heptathlon
Bronze medal – third place 1990 Auckland Heptathlon
Representing  Great Britain
European Championships
Bronze medal – third place 1986 Stuttgart Heptathlon
World Student Games (Universiade)
Bronze medal – third place 1983 EdmontonHeptathlon
Bronze medal – third place 1985 KobeHeptathlon

Early life

She went to Harris School. She competed in Tae Kwan Do, becoming the English champion, and was in the English team. She lived on Wood Street.[1]

Athletics career

Simpson was born in Jamaica, but brought up in Rugby, Warwickshire.[2] She competed in the pentathlon at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow and in the heptathlon and high jump at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. She competed in three Commonwealth Games; the 1982 Commonwealth Games in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, the 1986 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh, Scotland and the 1990 Commonwealth Games in Auckland, New Zealand, winning a silver, gold and bronze respectively in the heptathlon.[3][4][5][6][7] She was also the Three A's heptathlon champion in 1982 and 1983. In 1986, Simpson won a bronze medal in the heptathlon at the European Championships in Stuttgart with a personal best points total of 6623.

Television

In 1987, Simpson participated in Prince Edward's charity television special The Grand Knockout Tournament. Between 1993 and 1996, she featured in the British television show Gladiators as "Nightshade". After appearing in an Ashes competition with Australian Gladiators, she became ill. She appeared for a few episodes of the 1996 series but was later forced to pull out.

Personal life

In 1999, Simpson's daughter, Joan Mary, died of meningitis, following a nationwide outbreak of the disease.[8]

Achievements

YearCompetitionVenuePositionEventNotes
Representing  Great Britain /  England
1980 Olympic Games Moscow, Soviet Union 13th pentathlon 4304
1982 European Championships Athens, Greece 7th heptathlon 6287
Commonwealth Games Brisbane, Australia 5th 100 m hurdles 13.25
2nd heptathlon 6214
1983 World Student Games (Universiade) Edmonton, Canada 3rd heptathlon 6184
World Championships Helsinki, Finland heptathlon DNF
1984 Olympic Games Los Angeles, United States 19th (q) high jump 1.84 m
5th heptathlon 6280
1985 World Student Games (Universiade) Kobe, Japan 3rd heptathlon 6046
1986 Commonwealth Games Edinburgh, Scotland 1st heptathlon 6282
European Championships Stuttgart, West Germany 3rd heptathlon 6623
1988 Olympic Games Seoul, South Korea heptathlon DNF
1990 Commonwealth Games Auckland, New Zealand 3rd heptathlon 6085

References

  1. Coventry Evening Telegraph Wednesday 3 March 1976, page 10
  2. "Judy Simpson (nee Livermore)". Birchfield Harriers Sporting Tales. Retrieved 8 March 2022.
  3. "1986 Athletes". Team England.
  4. "England team in 1986". Commonwealth Games Federation.
  5. "1990 Athletes". Team England.
  6. "England team in 1990". Commonwealth Games Federation.
  7. "Athletes and results". Commonwealth Games Federation.
  8. "Brain disease claims Gladiator's baby". BBC News. 7 January 1999. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
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