British sweethearts wedded to dream of Rio gold
Bond strengthened
MELBOURNE, July 24, (RTRS): Concerned colleagues often warn of the perils of work-place romances but Britain’s badminton power couple Chris and Gabby Adcock believe marriage has only made their on-court performance more harmonious.
The mixed doubles pair are Team GB’s best chance of a maiden badminton gold medal at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics and their relationship has gone from strength to strength since their wedding three years ago.
Not long after their honeymoon, the Adcocks upset China’s London Olympic champions Zhang Nan and Zhao Yunlei to win the Hong Kong Superseries title and took gold at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow the following year.
In December, they became the first Britons to win a title at the World Superseries Finals in Dubai, the sport’s equivalent to tennis’s season-ending ATP World Tour Finals.
They head to Rio as the world’s seventh-ranked pair, brushing off fears about the Zika virus and convinced that domestic bliss has given them an edge in their mission to win a medal for Team GB.
“I think it’s really easy for us to read each other and how we’re feeling, if one’s a bit more tired or whatever,” Gabby Adcock told Reuters in an interview in Sydney, with husband Chris perched beside her.
“So that’s good that we can be honest with each other and we’re working towards the same goal.
“We know if one’s having a bad day the other one’s got to be there to support and it does happen.
“So we’re very fortunate that we know each other inside out.
“I know that Chris is putting in the work every day 24-7 and he trusts that I’m doing the same.”
Gabby, a Leeds-born 25-year-old and Chris, a 27-year-old from Leicester, seem a relaxed and amiable couple for all their determination to succeed.
They have known each other since they were children competing on the national age circuit and are rarely out of each other’s pockets, living and training in Milton Keynes where Badminton England (BE) has its national performance centre.
They were doubles partners and a couple well before the London Olympics but in a Shakespearean twist, BE’s coaches tore their on-court partnership asunder before it could fully bloom.