(left to right) –

Ben Quilter, Darren Harris, Steve Gawthorpe (coach), Samuel Ingram, Ian Rose, Joe Ingram.

The British V.I. Judo Squad started in 1985 and the first European tournament was held in Paris, France in 1987. Four countries participated and the competition was for men only.

Judo became a Paralympic sport at the Seoul Games in 1988. The second European V.I. Judo Championships was hosted by Manchester in 1989, and European and Paralympic competitions have taken place regularly since then.

The first World Championships took place in Assen in 1990. Great Britain has a very good track record of international medals. Simon Jackson was their front-runner. He won his first Gold Paralympic medal at the Seoul Paralympics in 1988 at the age of sixteen and has competed at every Paralympics, World and European Champion-ships since. He has been European and World Champion at several different weight categories. But GB had many other successful players who have been successful and gain medals at the Paralympic games including Paul Lewis, Terry Powell, David Hurst, David Hodgkins and Ian Rose. The first national coach was Steve Pullen he was a founder member of the squad and has taken the players to several Paralympic Games. He is also the judo adviser for IBSA.

Ian is a very self-motivated individual. Both in his sporting and vocational careers Ian has overcome his disability and shown that with a will to do his best at anything he starts, he can excel and have fun.

He has been an international athlete for over 16 years and an internal sales representative for 10. Alongside his sporting and work activities, Ian is foremost a dedicated family man, with two children and a very supportive wife.

Ian started Judo when he was seven for self defence reasons and gained his black belt at 17. In the same year (1989) he was selected to fight in his first Visually Impaired (VI) European Championships, where he won a bronze medal. From that point Ian decided to make Judo a very big part of his life. Ian has succeeded in both fully sighted competitions and VI with a long list of successes. Ian is a 4 time European Champion, a former World Champion and has competed in the last 4 Paralympic Games where he has won a bronze in Atlanta and Silver in Athens. (source: Inspirational Speakers )

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