Visually Impaired Judo Champion wins bronze! - News - LIVING SPORT

Visually Impaired Judo Champion wins bronze!

Melbourn-based Judo champion and coach Lesley Reid, who started to lose her sight in 2004, found herself winning a bronze medal at the Visually Impaired (VI) World Judo Championships in Turkey last March.

Lesley started competitive judo at a young age and by the time she left college, she’d already won the National Students Games twice and went on winning bronze at the British Judo Championships in 1986. She was offered a place in the British squad two years later but declined and stopped competing altogether after the birth of her first daughter.

However, the former champion did not give up her involvement in judo and started coaching and in 2009, she won the British Judo Association’s coveted Coach of the Year Award.

Despite starting to lose her sight in 2004, Lesley stayed positive and no one was surprised when late last year the British VI squad asked if she’d join them with a view to competing internationally. In the run-up to Christmas, British Blind Sport confirmed that Lesley was eligible for international competitions. And After New Year’s Eve, she was back on track following a tough training programme. Her hard work finally paid off in Turkey where she took bronze.

Her success at the World Championships means that she’s now in the squad for the Paralympics and performing well in 2012 is her ultimate goal.

In the meanwhile, she’s busy fighting in the veteran category at sighted events.

For more details and quotes about this interview, please visit the Cambridge-News Website.

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