Simon Jackson (judoka)

Simon Jackson
MBE
Personal information
Born (1972-05-28) 28 May 1972
Sport
Country  United Kingdom
Sport Paralympic Judo
Medal record
Paralympic Games[1]
1988 Seoul Men's Up To 60 kg
1992 Barcelona Men's Up To 71 kg
1996 Atlanta Men's Up To 78 kg
2000 Sydney Men's Up To 81 kg
Paralympic World Cup[2][3]
2009 Tandem Sprint
2009 Tandem Kilometre Time Trial
2008 Tandem Sprint
2008 Tandem Kilometre Time Trial

Simon Jackson MBE (born 28 May 1972) is a visually impaired judoka and cyclist from Britain. He has competed in five Paralympic Games winning gold medals in three consecutive Games.[1] Jackson is the only British person to win a Paralympic judo gold medal[4] and the most successful judo competitor from the country.[5] In addition to his Paralympic success he also won three world titles and 16 European gold medals. He switched to tandem cycling and won two events in 2009.[6]

Sporting career

Jackson won gold medals at the 1988, 1992, and 1996 Summer Paralympics and bronze at the 2000 Games in his judo weight class.[6] His loss to Cuban Isao Rafael Cruz Alonso ended a winning streak that had lasted 162 bouts. At the 2004 Games he lost in the first round against Sergiy Sydorenko, staging a sit-down protest against the referee's decision to award Sydorenko a match-winning yuko. Jackson claims that he was off the mat and that the points should not have been awarded. After the match the referee watched a video recording of the incident and confirmed the decision.[7] Jackson remains Britain's most successful judo competitor.[5][6]

In 2008 Jackson was forced to retire from judo competition after suffering a back injury. He began to focus on tandem cycling and partnered Barney Storey. He just missed out on selection for the 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing but the pair went on to win gold at two events at the 2009 BT Paralympic World Cup.[6][8]

Jackson was a member of the Channel 4 commentary team for the London 2012 Paralympic Games, covering judo alongside Neil Adams.[9] Based on his experiences of disability sport he is also a motivational speaker.[6]

Personal life

Jackson was born on 28 May 1972. He received an MBE for services to sport in the 1997 New Year Honours.[6] He is married to Sarah, a judo coach, and works as a student learning mentor in Rochdale.[5]

References

  1. 1 2 "Athlete Search Results (Simon Jackson)". British Paralympic Association. Retrieved 7 August 2013.
  2. ↑ "Simon Jackson, 2009 cycling results". British Cycling. Retrieved 7 August 2013.
  3. ↑ "Simon Jackson, 2008 cycling results". British Cycling. Retrieved 7 August 2013.
  4. ↑ "Athlete Search Results (all British judo competitors)". British Paralympic Association. Retrieved 7 August 2013.
  5. 1 2 3 James Rush (22 January 2013). "Blind Paralympic judo star stole £10,000 in disability benefits after claiming for taxi rides he never took". Daily Mail. Associated Newspapers Ltd. Retrieved 7 August 2013.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Simon Jackson". British Paralympic Association. Retrieved 7 August 2013.
  7. ↑ Elizabeth Hudson (25 May 2009). "Judo blow for Jackson". BBC News. Retrieved 7 August 2013.
  8. ↑ Elizabeth Hudson (25 May 2009). "Jackson gets taste for cycling gold". BBC News. Retrieved 7 August 2013.
  9. ↑ "Unprecedented Rolling Coverage for London 2012". International Paralympic Committee (IPC). 28 May 2012. Retrieved 7 August 2013.
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