Heather Ward
Heather Ward (married name Heather Nielsen) | |||||||||||||||
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Personal information | |||||||||||||||
Country | England | ||||||||||||||
Born | October 1938 (age 85)[1] Surrey | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Heather Maureen Ward (later Heather Nielsen; born October 1938) is a former English badminton player who won international championships and competed at an elite level during a two decade span from the mid-1950s to the mid-1970s.
Biography
Noted for her grace and athleticism, she won women's doubles with American Margaret Varner at the 1958 All England Badminton Championships (then the world's most prestigious tournament for individual competitors).[2] The following year Ward interrupted the reign of the great Judy Devlin (Hashman) by defeating her in the 1959 All England Badminton Championships women's singles final.[3] During the 1960s her badminton career was hampered by a variety of factors including athletic injury, marriage and motherhood, and residence in South Africa. In 1970, however, she returned to the 1970 All England Badminton Championships to reach the final of women's singles before bowing to Japan's Etsuko Takenaka.[4] Continuing to compete, she was an All-England singles quarter-finalist as late as 1975.[5]
She married Egon Nielsen and they had four children Bjorn, Gorm, Belinda and Anders Nielsen.[6]
References
- ^ "1938 births". Free BMD.
- ^ Herbert Scheele ed., The International Badminton Federation Handbook for 1971 (Canterbury, Kent, England: J. A. Jennings Ltd., 1971) 166.
- ^ Scheele, 163.
- ^ Scheele, 164.
- ^ Pat Davis, The Guinness Book of Badminton (Enfield, Middlesex, England: Guinness Superlatives Ltd., 1983) 162.
- ^ "Badminton mourns Anders Nielsen". Badminton England.
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- 1900: Ethel Thomson (ENG)
- 1901: Ethel Thomson (ENG)
- 1902: Meriel Lucas (ENG)
- 1903: Ethel Thomson (ENG)
- 1904: Ethel Thomson (ENG)
- 1905: Meriel Lucas (ENG)
- 1906: Ethel Thomson (ENG)
- 1907: Meriel Lucas (ENG)
- 1908: Meriel Lucas (ENG)
- 1909: Meriel Lucas (ENG)
- 1910: Meriel Lucas (ENG)
- 1911: Margaret Tragett (ENG)
- 1912: Margaret Tragett (ENG)
- 1913: Lavinia Radeglia (ENG)
- 1914: Lavinia Radeglia (ENG)
- 1920: Kathleen McKane (ENG)
- 1921: Kathleen McKane (ENG)
- 1922: Kathleen McKane (ENG)
- 1923: Lavinia Radeglia (ENG)
- 1924: Kathleen McKane (ENG)
- 1925: Margaret Stocks (ENG)
- 1926: Marjorie Barrett (ENG)
- 1927: Marjorie Barrett (ENG)
- 1928: Margaret Tragett (ENG)
- 1929: Marjorie Barrett (ENG)
- 1930: Marjorie Barrett (ENG)
- 1931: Marjorie Barrett (ENG)
- 1932: Leoni Kingsbury (ENG)
- 1933: Alice Woodroffe (ENG)
- 1934: Leoni Kingsbury (ENG)
- 1935: Betty Uber (ENG)
- 1936: Thelma Kingsbury (ENG)
- 1937: Thelma Kingsbury (ENG)
- 1938: Daphne Young (ENG)
- 1939: Dorothy Walton (CAN)
- 1947: Marie Ussing (DEN)
- 1948: Kirsten Thorndahl (DEN)
- 1949: Aase Schiøtt Jacobsen (DEN)
- 1950: Tonny Ahm (DEN)
- 1951: Aase Schiøtt Jacobsen (DEN)
- 1952: Tonny Ahm (DEN)
- 1953: Marie Ussing (DEN)
- 1954: Judy Devlin (USA)
- 1955: Margaret Varner (USA)
- 1956: Margaret Varner (USA)
- 1957: Judy Devlin (USA)
- 1958: Judy Devlin (USA)
- 1959: Heather Ward (ENG)
- 1960: Judy Devlin (USA)
- 1961: Judy Hashman (USA)
- 1962: Judy Hashman (USA)
- 1963: Judy Hashman (USA)
- 1964: Judy Hashman (USA)
- 1965: Ursula Smith (ENG)
- 1966: Judy Hashman (USA)
- 1967: Judy Hashman (USA)
- 1968: Eva Twedberg (SWE)
- 1969: Hiroe Yuki (JPN)
- 1970: Etsuko Takenaka (JPN)
- 1971: Eva Twedberg (SWE)
- 1972: Noriko Nakayama (JPN)
- 1973: Margaret Beck (ENG)
- 1974: Hiroe Yuki (JPN)
- 1975: Hiroe Yuki (JPN)
- 1976: Gillian Gilks (ENG)
- 1977: Hiroe Yuki (JPN)
- 1978: Gillian Gilks (ENG)
- 1979: Lene Køppen (DEN)
- 1980: Lene Køppen (DEN)
- 1981: Hwang Sun-ai (KOR)
- 1982: Zhang Ailing (CHN)
- 1983: Zhang Ailing (CHN)
- 1984: Li Lingwei (CHN)
- 1985: Han Aiping (CHN)
- 1986: Kim Yun-ja (KOR)
- 1987: Kirsten Larsen (DEN)
- 1988: Gu Jiaming (CHN)
- 1989: Li Lingwei (CHN)
- 1990: Susi Susanti (INA)
- 1991: Susi Susanti (INA)
- 1992: Tang Jiuhong (CHN)
- 1993: Susi Susanti (INA)
- 1994: Susi Susanti (INA)
- 1995: Lim Xiaoqing (SWE)
- 1996: Bang Soo-hyun (KOR)
- 1997: Ye Zhaoying (CHN)
- 1998: Ye Zhaoying (CHN)
- 1999: Ye Zhaoying (CHN)
- 2000: Gong Zhichao (CHN)
- 2001: Gong Zhichao (CHN)
- 2002: Camilla Martin (DEN)
- 2003: Zhou Mi (CHN)
- 2004: Gong Ruina (CHN)
- 2005: Xie Xingfang (CHN)
- 2006: Xie Xingfang (CHN)
- 2007: Xie Xingfang (CHN)
- 2008: Tine Rasmussen (DEN)
- 2009: Wang Yihan (CHN)
- 2010: Tine Rasmussen (DEN)
- 2011: Wang Shixian (CHN)
- 2012: Li Xuerui (CHN)
- 2013: Tine Baun (DEN)
- 2014: Wang Shixian (CHN)
- 2015: Carolina Marín (ESP)
- 2016: Nozomi Okuhara (JPN)
- 2017: Tai Tzu-ying (TPE)
- 2018: Tai Tzu-ying (TPE)
- 2019: Chen Yufei (CHN)
- 2020: Tai Tzu-ying (TPE)
- 2021: Nozomi Okuhara (JPN)
- 2022: Akane Yamaguchi (JPN)
- 2023: An Se-young (KOR)
- 2024: Carolina Marín (ESP)