Major Championships Record
Olympic Games – 2008 4h 800m
World Championships – 2007 6th sf 800m, 2009 5th sf1 800m
European Championships – 2006 6th sf 800m, 2010 800m 5th
Commonwealth Games – 2006 6th 800m, 2010 800m 5th
Other noteworthy performances
2000 – 1st Commonwealth Youth 800m
2001 – 8th World Youth Championships 800m
2002 – 4th World Junior Championships 800m
2003 – 3rd European Junior Championships 800m
2005 – 2nd European U23 Championships 800m
Coached by former Olympic 3000m steeplechase bronze medallist Mark Rowland, Jemma Simpson is noted for being a consistent athlete, particularly at major championships. Having been a very talented junior athlete, Simpson missed her first season as a senior with foot and hamstring injuries, but the Plymouth-born athlete returned in 2005 to win the European U23 silver medal and one season later, she maintained her record of making the final at every major championships, finishing sixth at the Commonwealth Games, before breaking the two-minute barrier for the first time.
Having made European and world semi-finals, Simpson moved up to 1500m for the 2008 indoor campaign, where she won the World Indoor Trials with a decisive final 200m and having benefited from working on strength in the winter, the Newquay & Par athlete reduced her lifetime best to 1:59.17 but made a disappointing exit in Beijing, where she could not progress through her heat.
In 2009 after good early season performances she went on to win the Aviva World Trials 800m in Birmingham and ran a pb of 1:59.07 at the Herculis Meeting in Monte Carlo. At the World Championships in Berlin, she was disappointed not to make the final exiting in the semi-final. She went on to record two more sub-2 minute performances in Madrid and Brussels and in the World Athletics Final in Thessalonika, Greece, she finished in seventh place. 2010 saw her reduce her PB to a classy 1:58.74 at the Herculis Meeting in Monaco and in all posted six sub-minute times during the season. After a comfortable victory at the Aviva European Trials and UK Championships she went on to finish a slightly disappointing fifth in Barcelona at the European Championships in a close finish. 2011 has started well after an early season victory over 1500m at the IAAF World Challenge Meeting in Melbourne clocking 4:08.49.
She has a degree in English from St. Mary's. Her mother competed for GB in the World Championships at karate.