Shannon Archer

Shannon Archer (born 29 July 1998 in Edinburgh) is a Scottish artistic gymnast. She was the first Scottish gymnast to win a medal in women's artistic gymnastics at the Commonwealth Games, earning a bronze on vault in 2022.

Early life
Archer was born in 1998 in Edinburgh. Her mother, Wendy Purdie, was a Scottish indoor lawn bowls player. Archer earned a Bachelor of Science in Developing Athletes Through Professional Practice from Edinburgh Napier University.

Gymnastics career
Archer made her international debut for Scotland at the 2011 Commonwealth Youth Games where she helped Scotland finish fourth as a team. In 2017 Archer won her first senior national title and helped Scotland win the bronze medal at the Northern European Championships.

Archer competed at the 2018 Commonwealth Games where she helped Scotland finish fifth as a team. Individually she finished tenth in the all-around and fifth on vault.

In 2020 Archer moved started training at the South Essex Gymnastics Club. She reclaimed the Scottish national title in 2021 and successfully defended it the following year.

Archer competed at the 2022 Commonwealth Games where she helped Scotland finish sixth as a team. During the all-around competition she finished eighth. During the vault final Archer finished third behind Georgia Godwin of Australia and Laurie Denommée of Canada, earning herself the bronze medal. In doing so Archer became the first Scottish female artistic gymnast to win a medal at the Commonwealth Games.