Gerald Baker (bowls)

Gerald Salem Baker (born 7 October 1960), known as Gerry Baker, is a lawn bowler.

Gerry Baker

Personal information
Nationality	South African
Born	(1960-10-07) 7 October 1960 (age 63)^[1] Bloemfontein, South Africa
Sport
Club	Bryanston Sports Bowls Club
Medal record Men's lawn bowls Representing  South Africa Commonwealth Games 1998 Kuala Lumpur Men's singles 2002 Manchester Men's pairs 2010 Delhi Men's pairs World Outdoor Bowls Championships 2000 Johannesburg Men's pairs 2012 Adelaide Men's pairs 2012 Adelaide Men's singles Atlantic Bowls Championships 2007 Ayr fours 2009 Johannesburg singles 2011 Paphos pairs

Bowls career

Baker is from Bloemfontein, in South Africa and has won three medals at the World Outdoor Championships and three medals at the Commonwealth Games.^[2] He broke a South African record by appearing at six Commonwealth Games.^[3]

In 1996, he won the Hong Kong International Bowls Classic pairs title with Neil Burkett.^[4] In 1998 he won a bronze medal in the singles at the 1998 Kuala Lumpur Commonwealth Games and two years later he teamed up with Shaun Addinall to claim a Pairs silver medal in the 2000 World Outdoor Bowls Championship in Johannesburg. Another bronze arrived in 2002 with Addinall in the Pairs during the 2002 Manchester Commonwealth Games before he and Addinall finally won a Gold Medal in the Pairs at the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games.^[5]

In 2007 he won the fours gold medal at the Atlantic Bowls Championships.^[6][7] In 2009 he won the singles gold medal at the Atlantic Championships^[8][9] and two years later won the pairs gold medal at the 2011 Atlantic Championships.^[10]

His most recent success came in the 2012 World Outdoor Bowls Championship when he picked up a fifth medal of note by claiming bronze in the Singles in Adelaide.

He was selected as part of the South Africa team for the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast in Queensland (his sixth Games).^[11]

At national level he has finished runner-up three times at the South African National Bowls Championships bowling for the Belgravia Bowls Club.^[12] He finally won a national title, when winning the pairs with Bradley Robinson in May 2023.^[13]

Business career

Baker was appointed as a Director of World Bowls on 1 June 2020.^[14]

References

1. "World Bowls Players Profiles" (PDF). Bowls South Africa. Retrieved 22 May 2021.
2. "Glasgow 2014 - Gerry Baker Profile". Commonwealth Games Federation.
3. "SA bowler Baker beckons Cyclone Iris into Gold Coast". Times Live.
4. "HK Classic winners Men Pairs". HKLBA. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
5. "Bowls silver for Mervyn King". BBC Sport. 12 October 2010.
6. . World Bowls Ltd. Archived from the original on 25 November 2010. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
7. "Bowls". The Times. 18 July 2007. p. 61. Retrieved 20 May 2021 – via The Times Digital Archive.
8. . World Bowls Ltd. Archived from the original on 14 March 2010. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
9. "Bowls". The Times. 18 May 2009. p. 61. Retrieved 21 May 2021 – via The Times Digital Archive.
10. . World Bowls Ltd. Archived from the original on 31 October 2011. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
11. "Team South Africa for Commonwealth Games announced". The South African.
12. . South Africa Bowls. Archived from the original on 3 April 2019. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
13. "Baker, Robinson storm back to win SA pairs title". The South African. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
14. "Board Structure". World Bowls. Retrieved 4 June 2021.

External links

• at the Commonwealth Games Federation (archived)   (2014)
• at the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games (archived)
• at the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games (archived)
• at the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games (archived)