Elliot Stewart (born 22 February 1988)
is a British Paralympic judoka. At the
2020 Summer Paralympics
The , branded as the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, was an international multi-sport parasports event held from 24 August to 5 September 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. They were the 16th Summer Paralympic Games as organized by the International Paralym ...
, he won a silver medal in the
men's 90 kg event.
Stewart is the son of fellow judoka
Dennis Stewart, who won a bronze medal in
judo at the 1988 Olympics. His brother Max is also a judoka who has represented Great Britain internationally. Elliot took up the sport during his childhood and competed for Team GB at the 2004
European Cadet Judo Championships
The European Cadet Judo Championships are annual judo competitions organized by the European Judo Union for European judoka aged 18 and younger.
The last contest took place in Poreč, Croatia. The next will take place in Coimbra, Portugal.
Co ...
in Rotterdam as an able-bodied athlete.
After suffering rapid deterioration in his eyesight, he was diagnosed with
keratoconus
Keratoconus (KC) is a disorder of the eye that results in progressive thinning of the cornea. This may result in blurry vision, double vision, nearsightedness, irregular astigmatism, and light sensitivity leading to poor quality-of-life. Usu ...
: he underwent emergency surgery in 2017 which prevented a complete loss of sight but his vision had declined to the point where he was unable to compete as an able-bodied judoka and had to give up his job teaching judo in schools. However he subsequently underwent testing to find out whether he could compete as a visually impaired competitor, and received a
B3 classification, enabling him to continue full-time training at the GB Judo Centre of Excellence with his father as his coach.
He made his debut in
para judo at the 2017
IBSA European Judo Championships in
Walsall
Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands County, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east ...
.
Stewart took bronze medals at the 2018
IBSA World Judo Championships The IBSA World Games (formerly IBSA World Championships and Games) or World Blind Games are an international multi-sport event, occurring every four years, organized by the International Blind Sports Federation (IBSA). The events enable blind and pa ...
, the 2019
IBSA World Games and the 2019 European Championships.
References
External links
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1988 births
Living people
British male judoka
Paralympic judoka for Great Britain
Paralympic silver medalists for Great Britain
Paralympic medalists in judo
Judoka at the 2020 Summer Paralympics
Medalists at the 2020 Summer Paralympics
20th-century British people
21st-century British people
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