Anthony "Tony" Laurence Clarke, (19 June 1961), is the only Australian Paralympic judoka

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...

list. He represented Australia at five

Summer Paralympic Games The Summer Paralympics also known as the Games of the Paralympiad, are an international multi-sport event where athletes with physical disabilities compete. This includes athletes with mobility disabilities, amputations, blindness, and cerebral ...

and medalled at the 1993

Australian National Judo Championships The Australian National Judo Championships are the highest level of judo competition in Australia. The championships are held annually by Judo Federation of Australia, Judo Australia, and qualified domestic and overseas judoka compete in their re ...

competing against sighted opponents.

Personal life

Clarke was born in Adelaide, South Australia on 19 June 1961 and was raised in Kilburn, Adelaide. He began drinking at age 14 and moved out of home the following year to work as a "

sanitation engineer Sanitation refers to public health conditions related to clean drinking water and treatment and disposal of human excreta and sewage. Preventing human contact with feces is part of sanitation, as is hand washing with soap. Sanitation systems a ...

". His judo coach and mentor Michael Headland perceived "a life which was not going to amount to anything". In 1978 Clarke lost control of the wheel of his car and drove it into a

Stobie pole A Stobie pole is a power line pole made of two steel joists held apart by a slab of concrete. It was invented by Adelaide Electric Supply Company engineer James Cyril Stobie (1895–1953). Stobie used readily available materials due to the ...

. He later recalled watching his hands fill with blood until he passed out. When he regained consciousness he was blind and his mother, Marjorie, had permitted the surgical removal of his left eye. In 2004 she recounted to

ABC Television ABC Television most commonly refers to: *ABC Television Network of the American Broadcasting Company, United States, or *ABC Television (Australian TV network), a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Australia ABC Television or ABC ...

presenter George Negus, "the doctor said, 'you'd be a good advertisement for don't drink and drive'". Clarke learned braille and computer skills using screen-reading technology, and spent two and a half years hitch-hiking across Australia and New Zealand, ensuring "the dog is well visible to get a sympathy lift." Clarke is also a musician and has performed with a

banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and usually made of plastic, or occasionally animal skin. Early forms of the instrument were fashi ...

and a mouth organ on James Place near Rundle Mall, Adelaide, every day for 15 years. In April 2016 Clarke reported to the police he had been repeatedly targeted by a thief later identified as Anastasia Dokas, 64. He explained that she gained his trust by giving him food, and that as he placed it down, she would take the money from his banjo case. Dokas denies the allegations, however her counsel recommends her case be referred to a mental health court diversion program.

Career

In 1993 Clarke achieved his first career win against a sighted opponent at the

. He secured a place in the Under 95 kg semi-final, a first for blind judo competitors, and was awarded a bronze medal. Four years after judo was introduced to the

, Clarke represented Australia in the Men's Up To 78kg event at the

1992 Summer Paralympics )( es, Deporte Sin Límites) , nations = 82 (BCN)75 (MAD) , athletes = 3,020 (BCN)1,600 (MAD) , opened_by = Queen Sofía , opening = 3 September (BCN)15 September (MAD) , closing = 14 September (BCN)22 September (MAD) , even ...

in Barcelona. He was the first of two Australian judoka to compete at the

Games A game is a structured form of play, usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or games) or art (such ...

(the other was Desiree Allan). He lost to Brett Lewis (USA), Joel Gichtenaere (

FRA A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders founded in the twelfth or thirteenth century; the term distinguishes the mendicants' itinerant apostolic character, exercised broadly under the jurisdiction of a superior general, from the ol ...

) and Javier Sainz ( ESP) by ippon,

waza-ari is the second highest score a fighter can achieve in a Japanese martial arts ''ippon'' or ''waza-ari'' contest, usually judo, karate or jujutsu. ''Waza-ari'' in judo A ''waza-ari'' is the second highest score a fighter can achieve in judo, the ...

and

koka KOKA (980 AM) is an AM radio station, paired with an FM relay translator, licensed to Shreveport, Louisiana, and serving the Shreveport-Bossier City metropolitan area with an Urban contemporary gospel format. The station is currently under owne ...

in the Group A preliminaries. At the

1996 Summer Paralympics The 1996 Paralympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, were held from August 16 to 25. It was the first Paralympic Games, Paralympics to get mass media sponsorship, and had a budget of USD $81 million. It was the first Paralympic Games ...

in Atlanta, Clarke received a

in the Men's Up To 95kg event, becoming the first Australian Paralympic competitor to medal in judo. He defeated Arlindo Tinoco ( BRA) by ippon in the

quarter-final A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...

, Fermin Campos Ariza ( ESP) by yuko in the

semi-final A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...

, and Run Ming Men ( CHN) by ippon in the final. 81 ACPS Atlanta 1996 Judo Anthony Clarke

Between 1996 and 2000, Clarke held a scholarship with the

Australian Institute of Sport The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) is a high performance sports training institution in Australia. The Institute's headquarters were opened in 1981 and are situated in the northern suburb of Bruce, Canberra. The AIS is a division of the ...

. He was an official torch bearer at the Opening Ceremony of the Paralympic Games in Sydney in 2000 and competed in the Men's Up To 90kg event. He was defeated by ippon in the 1/8 final by Ian Rose ( GBR).At the

2004 Summer Paralympics ) , nations = 136 , athletes = 3,806 , events = 519 in 19 sports , opening = 17 September , closing = 28 September , opened_by = President Costis Stephanopoulos , cauldron = Georgios Toptsis , stadium = Olympic ...

in Athens, Clarke competed in the Men's Up To 90kg event, but was defeated by Oleg Kretsul (

RUS Rus or RUS may refer to: People and places * Rus (surname), a Romanian-language surname * East Slavic historical territories and peoples (). See Names of Rus', Russia and Ruthenia ** Rus' people, the people of Rus' ** Rus' territories *** Kievan ...

) by ippon in the

. In December 2006 Clarke accused the Oceania Judo Union of violating the Disability Discrimination Act (1975) by excluding him from its 2005 World Tournament and effectively costing him his place in the

2008 Australian Olympic team A total of 433 competitors competed for Australia at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. The team was Australia's second largest away team after the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, which included a team of 482 competitors. Australian athletes ha ...

. He sought from the Federal Magistrates Court $31,440 ( AUD) in compensation. The application was discontinued following mediation and a confidential settlement. At the

2008 Summer Paralympic Games The 2008 Summer Paralympic Games (), the 13th Summer Paralympic Games, took place in Beijing, China from September 6 to 17, 2008. As with the 2008 Summer Olympics, equestrian events were held in Hong Kong and sailing events in Qingdao. It was f ...

in Beijing, Oleg Kretsul (

) again defeated Clarke by ippon in the

of the Men's Up To 90kg event. He retired in 2008.

Notes

__NOTOC__ {{DEFAULTSORT:Clarke, Anthony 1961 births Living people Paralympic judoka for Australia Judoka at the 1992 Summer Paralympics Judoka at the 1996 Summer Paralympics Judoka at the 2000 Summer Paralympics Judoka at the 2004 Summer Paralympics Judoka at the 2008 Summer Paralympics Paralympic gold medalists for Australia Visually impaired category Paralympic competitors Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia Australian male judoka Australian blind people Sportsmen from South Australia Australian Institute of Sport Paralympic judokas Medalists at the 1996 Summer Paralympics Paralympic medalists in judo