Who is Olympic gold medalist Greg Rutherford?
GREG RUTHERFORD has swapped his gym gear for a pair of ice skates on the 2024 series of Dancing On Ice.
The Olympian has joined the likes of Ryan Thomas and Amber Davies on the ITV competition and has been paired with newbie Vanessa James.
Who is Greg Rutherford and what’s his net worth?
Gregory James Rutherford is a retired British track and field athlete who specialises in long jump.
He was born on November 17, 1986, and was raised in Milton Keynes.
Greg is one of three children and was always destined to be a sportsman.
His grandfather and great-grandfather both played football for Arsenal, and Greg himself even had trials for Aston Villa before turning his attentions to athletics.
Rutherford became the youngest ever winner of the long jump event at the AAA Championships in 2005 and has gone on to have a hugely successful sporting career.
He won the gold medal for Team GB on Super Saturday at the London 2012 Olympics and went on to win at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, the 2014 and 2016 European Athletics Championships and the 2015 World Athletics Championships.
Rutherford has an estimated £3.7million net worth.
In March 2017, the sportsman revealed how he was left “feeling sick” after finding out his former manager cheated him out of £48,000 to fuel a gambling addiction.
Greg was awarded an MBE in the 2013 New Year Honours for services to athletics.
Who is Greg Rutherford’s fiancée and how many children do they have?
Rutherford and his partner Susie Verrill share three children.
The couple have two sons and one daughter.
Their first son, Milo, was born in 2014 and his little brother, Rex, then followed in 2017.
Greg and Susie’s daughter Daphne was born in 2021.
Rutherford proposed to his long-term partner in May 2019.
As of January 2024, the pair are yet to tie the knot.
Verrill used to work as a social media and features editor for Look magazine, and now runs blog mymiloandme.com.
What TV shows has Greg Rutherford done?
Greg has appeared on several reality TV shows since being propelled to fame at the 2012 Olympics.
In 2016 he was a contestant on BBC‘s Strictly Come Dancing, where he was paired with Natalie Lowe.
Then, in 2019, Rutherford won the 14th series of Celebrity MasterChef.
In October 2023, Greg was confirmed as a contestant on the 2024 series of Dancing On Ice.
It was later announced that he had been partnered up with professional skater Vanessa James.
Ahead of his debut on the series, the athlete told fans he was aiming to perform a trick that’s “never been done before” on the show.
He said: “My kids love dancing around so hopefully they are going to enjoy watching me dance with blades on my feet!
“I think this is going to be a really different experience but one that will be quite exciting.
“I like a challenge and I needed a reason to go out and do stuff again and here we are.
“I want to perform something that’s never been done before, that’s my aim.
“I’ll go 100,000% on this. I’ll try hard, I’m in no way expecting to be good but I will work as hard as I can.”
Why did Greg Rutherford retire and what’s his long-jump record?
In June 2018 Greg announced he would retire from professional athletics at the end of the season.
Speaking to the Guardian, Rutherford said: “At times I am in so much pain I can’t even sit on the floor and play with my two kids.
“I still feel I am fast. I still feel as if I am super strong. But whenever I try to sprint or jump I have to take three days off because I am limping so much. In the end, it wears you down.”
As of January 2024, Rutherford is the current British record holder for the long jump, both outdoors and indoors, with his personal bests of 8.51 m (outdoors) and 8.26 m (indoors).