About Jenna

Full name: Jenna Lee Downing
DOB: 4th March 1988
Hometown: Barnsley, South Yorkshire
Skating since: 1995

Inline skating champion Jenna Downing is none other than the 2008 LG Action Sports World Champion, 10 x British Champion and is a X-Games silver medallist (2002). All by the age of 21! A natural competitor, Jenna has competed in rollerblading events since the tender age of 8 and has amassed a lifetime of awards competing across the globe in televised and major international events. After turning pro at the age 12 (making Jenna the youngest female skater in the world to ever turn pro) there was no stopping her and Jenna has gone on to become an institution in British rollerblading. Her Sporting Ambassador award (2004) and her UK Freesports Athlete of the year award (2005) are testament to her fantastic ability and commitment to her chosen sport.

Jenna is an excellent role model for young women. Through her coaching clinics and, indeed, her amazing success she demonstrates that hard work and commitment can allow you to achieve, both personally and professionally. In the last 10 years Jenna has travelled to many countries across Europe, the Middle East, Asia and the US to compete and represent the UK. She has also appeared in numerous TV programmes and commercials, computer games, in fashion magazines and the national press, which has allowed her to broaden her experiences and potential career options. Jenna has combined her sporting success with her studies at school where she achieved 10 GCSEs (including 7 As and A*s) 4 A-Levels (3 As and 1 B) and has recently graduated from the University of Sheffield with a degree in Law.

Having been brought up by a single parent mother, Jenna has had to work incredibly hard to get to where she is today. Now, Jenna enjoys ‘giving back’ to sport by sharing her experiences with other young people in the hope that she can inspire and influence their lives. Jenna acts as an athlete mentor on the Respect Athlete Mentor Programme (RAMP) and Sky Living for Sport youth volunteering projects for Sport England and the Youth Sport Trust. Since 2007, Jenna has also been a “Sporting Champion” for Sport England. As one of the ‘Harnessing Talent Athletes’ on the Dame Kelly Holmes Legacy Trust Jenna is constantly getting involved in a range of projects aimed at inspiring young people and increasing sport participation.

Competition Highlights

  • Current reigning World ChampionJenna Downing
  • 10 x British Champion
  • 3 x National Adventure Sports Show (NASS) Champion
  • 2010 WRS Winterclash, 1st place, Berlin, Germany
  • 2009 WRS Movistar Extreme Sports Championships, 2nd place, Barcelona, Spain
  • 2009 WRS Chaz Sands Invitational, 1st place, Liverpool, England
  • 2009 WRS Winterclash, 2nd place, Belgium
  • 2008 LG Action Sports World Championships, Gold Medallist, Seattle, USA
  • 2008 Warner Bros ‘Supergirl Jam’, 4th place, California, USA
  • 2008 Summerclash, 1st place, Berlin, Germany
  • 2007 LG Action Sports World Championships, Silver Medallist, Dallas, USA
  • 2007 LG Action Sports World Qualifier, 4th place, Birmingham, England
  • 2007 LG Action Sports World Qualifier, 2nd place, Paris, France
  • 2006 LG Action Sports World Qualifier, 3rd place, Amsterdam, Holland
  • 2005 LG Action Sports World Championships, Bronze Medallist, Manchester, England
  • 2002 X-Games Silver Medallist, Philadelphia, USA
  • 2000 ASA European Championships, Gold Medallist, Paris, France
  • 1996 IISS World Championships, Gold Medallist, Amsterdam, Holland

Awards

  • 2005 UK Freesports Athlete of the Year
  • 2004 Sports Ambassador UK

Media Coverage

  • Kellogg's Frosties commercial
  • Big Breakfast
  • CITV’s Ministry of Mayhem (stunt double for Holly Willougby)
  • CITV’s ‘Skillz’ (presenter and expert coach)
  • Ministry of Sound music video – Peter Gelderblom, ‘Waiting 4’
  • Nationwide bank advert
  • The Gadget Show
  • Emmerdale, Hollyoaks, Heartbeat (background artist)
  • Character in Playstation 2 and X-Box video game ‘Rolling’
  • Womens Fitness
  • Pearson educational textbooks (front cover)
  • Sugar, teenage magazine
  • Bliss, teenage magazine
  • ElleGirl, teenage magazine