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Jodie Ounsley
Birth nameJodie Ounsley
Date of birth (2001-01-17) 17 January 2001 (age 23)
Place of birthDewsbury, West Yorkshire, England
Height1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)
Weight74 kg (163 lb)
Rugby union career
Position(s) Wing
Senior career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2018-2020 Loughborough Lightning ()
2020-2022 Sale Sharks Women ()
2022–2024 Exeter Chiefs Women ()
International career
Years Team Apps (Points)
2018 England U18s
National sevens teams
Years Team Comps
2018 England U18s
2019-2024 England
2019 GB Women

Jodie Ounsley (born 17 January 2001)[1] is an English former rugby union player who played for Premier 15s side Exeter Chiefs Women as a winger. In 2019 she became the first deaf female rugby player to play for a senior England side and the world's first-ever deaf female rugby sevens international. She is also a former British Brazilian jiu jitsu champion.[1] She also appeared as "Fury" in the 2024 BBC One reboot of Gladiators and has worked as an interviewer for Channel 4's coverage of the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris.[2]

Early life

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From Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, Ounsley was born prematurely and needed medication which subsequently impacted her hearing and became profoundly deaf.[3] She had a cochlear implant as a toddler, becoming the youngest person in the country to have the procedure.[4] A high achiever in sports she was the junior world coal carrying champion on five occasions and won five sprint titles at the Deaf Athletics Championship, and won a gold medal at the British Open Brazilian jiu-jitsu finals.[5] She attended Shelley College where her sporting endeavours were initially frustrated by a knee injury known as Osgood Schlatter Disease. She began playing rugby in October 2015 and by May 2016 was top try scorer for her age group Sandal Girls RUFC team and was representing Yorkshire under-15s.[6] She attended Loughborough College to study a degree in sports coaching.[7]

Career

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Rugby union

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Ounsley plays rugby with a scrum cap which protects her cochlear implant.[8] In 2018 Ounsley won the young Deaf Sports Personality award, following a year in which she scored for Yorkshire in the County Championship final held at Twickenham Stadium, represented England U18s against Wales U18s at the Principality Stadium, and signed for Premier 15s side Loughborough Lightning as well as being part of a winning World Deaf Rugby Sevens Championship side.[9] In 2019 she earned her first senior England rugby sevens cap having previously played for the 15's and 7's England team at Under 18's level.[10] In doing so she became the world's first-ever deaf female rugby sevens player to be selected for a full international and the first deaf female rugby player to play for a senior England side.[11][12] Awarded a full-time England 7s contract she made her World Sevens Series debut in Glendale, Colorado, and scored her first try in the event in Cape Town, South Africa, in December 2019.[13]

In February 2020 Ounsley was included in the GB Women rugby sevens provisional squad for the 2020 Summer Olympics.[14] She won the Deaf Sports Personality of the Year 2020 award.[15] In July 2020 Ounsley joined Premier 15s side Sale Sharks Women.[16] In 2022 she signed for Exeter Chiefs Women.[17] She injured her shoulder in the first game of the 2023-24 Allianz Cup and missed seven months of the season but returned to the Exeter side in April 2024 at the competition's semi-final stage for their match against Saracens Women.[18]

In April 2024, Ounsley reportedly was stepping out of the Rugby sevens, due to the injury, and her will to "pursue new opportunities".[19]

Gladiators

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In May 2023, Ounsley was named as ‘Fury’, one of the new Gladiators in a reboot of the television series of the same name to be broadcast on BBC One.[20][21] Both the female finalists of the rebooted series named Fury as the toughest opponent they faced.[22] The success of the series has been credited in part to the popularity of new Gladiators like Sabre, Diamond and Fury.[23]

Personal life

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Her father Phil was a former professional mixed martial artist and took part in the 2008 Gladiators Reboot on Sky One.[24] Her younger brother also played rugby.[25][26] Ounsley is an ambassador for The Elizabeth Foundation charity, a pre-school nursery for deaf children.[27][28] In 2021 Ounsley launched Not Just Anyone (NJA), a story telling platform designed to inspire younger generations.[29][30] She is the Honorary President of UK Deaf Sport, in 2023 she was named among Woman's Hour Power List 2023 Women in Sport.[31]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Jodie Ounsley". Exeter Chiefs. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  2. ^ "Interview with Jodie Ounsley ahead of the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games on Channel 4 | Channel 4". www.channel4.com. Retrieved 2 September 2024.
  3. ^ Marshall, Lucy (22 August 2022). "'Inspirational' Yorkshire England Rugby player opens up about life as a deaf woman". Examiner Live. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  4. ^ Cook, Julia (4 December 2019). "How England Rugby 7s star Jodie Ounsley is paving the way". uk.sports.yahoo.com. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  5. ^ "Inspirational Jodie earns England deaf rugby call-up". Yorkshire Evening Post. 10 May 2016. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  6. ^ "Jodie Ounsley took up rugby last October … now she's scoring tries for Yorkshire". Silentgrapevine.com. 6 May 2016. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  7. ^ "LOUGHBOROUGH COLLEGE'S JODIE OUNSLEY MAKES ENGLAND RUGBY SEVENS DEBUT IN USA". loucoll.ac.uk. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  8. ^ ""Genge is an inspiration" – Five rugby union players who live with disabilities". Ruck.co.uk. 10 March 2023. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  9. ^ English, Justin (21 November 2018). "SANDAL'S JODIE OUNSLEY WINS YOUNG DEAF SPORTS PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR - CONGRATULATIONS!". Sandalrufc. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  10. ^ Harrison, Janet (19 December 2019). "Deaf England Rugby Union star tells of challenges". Harrogate Advertiser.
  11. ^ Tomas, Fiona (8 October 2021). "Meet England Sevens and Sale star Jodie Ounsley: 'I scored a try and could not even hear the whistle'". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  12. ^ Cook, Julia. "England 7s star Jodie Ounsley continues to break barriers". Sports Gazette. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  13. ^ McKenna, Ben (22 August 2020). "Rugby Sevens Crisis - Dewsbury teen Jodie Ounsley clinging to her Olympic dreams". Yorkshire Evening Post. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  14. ^ "Loughborough athletes named in extended GB Women's Rugby Sevens squad". lboro.ac.uk. 25 February 2020. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  15. ^ "AMBASSADOR: Jodie Ounsley heard the amazing news at Nandos". didirugby.com. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  16. ^ Wallworth, Luke (27 July 2020). "Sale Sharks Women sign England Sevens player Jodie Ounsley". Salford Now. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  17. ^ "England Rugby Star Jodie Ounsley On Not Letting Deafness Stop Her". Absolutely Yorkshire. 7 November 2022. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  18. ^ "Ounsley back on the wing for cup semi-final". Exeter Chiefs. 12 April 2024. Retrieved 13 April 2024.
  19. ^ "Gladiators' Fury retires from rugby union". BBC Sport. Retrieved 22 April 2024.
  20. ^ Macdonald, Siobhan (3 May 2023). "First Gladiator stars revealed as ex-rugby player and UK fittest man champion". Daily Record. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  21. ^ "Ex-England rugby player and UK Fittest Man champion named as first Gladiators". Irish News. 3 May 2023. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  22. ^ "Gladiators, ready! Meet the Finalists heading to The Grand Final". bbc.co.uk. 23 March 2024. Retrieved 24 March 2024.
  23. ^ "BBC Gladiators in hot water as fans spot 'fake' change at end of show". Examiner Live. 24 March 2024. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
  24. ^ Hirst, Andrew (17 June 2008). "Phil the force!". Yorkshire Live. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
  25. ^ "Inspirational Jodie Ounsley Breaking Down Barriers On and Off the Rugby Pitch". Women.Rugby. 9 September 2020. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  26. ^ Cartwright, Elizabeth (21 November 2021). "Team GB and Sale star Jodie Ounsley: 'Talking about my journey gives me strength to help others'". Talking Rugby Union. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  27. ^ "England rugby player, Jodie Ounsley, endorses school's support for deaf charity". gsa.uk.com. 16 November 2020. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  28. ^ McKenna, Ben (7 April 2020). "England Sevens star Jodie Ounsley preparing for 24-hour fundraiser to aid deaf charity The Elizabeth Foundation". Wakefield Express. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  29. ^ Howe, Olivia (1 September 2021). ""Sharing our personal journeys is incredibly powerful" Jodie Ounsley". Athlete Media. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  30. ^ "Inspiring the next generation with Jodie Ounsley". girlsrugbyclub. 20 May 2021. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
  31. ^ "Congratulations Jodie Ounsley!". ukdeafsport. 30 March 2023. Retrieved 3 May 2023.
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