Adrian Neil Adams, (born 27 September 1958 in

Rugby, Warwickshire Rugby is a market town in eastern Warwickshire, England, close to the River Avon. In the 2021 census its population was 78,125, making it the second-largest town in Warwickshire. It is the main settlement within the larger Borough of Rugby whi ...

) is an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

judo is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponi ...

ka who won numerous Olympic and World Championship medals in

representing Great Britain. He was appointed

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(MBE) in the

1983 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1983 were appointments by most of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and honorary ones to citizens of other countries ...

for services to judo.

Early life

Adams was educated at

Myton School Myton School is a coeducational secondary school and sixth form. Most students live locally, although the school attracts students from outside the priority area. The school is located on Myton Road in the town of Warwick in Warwickshire, Englan ...

in Warwick. Adams' brother was the late

professional wrestling Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...

star Chris Adams, who himself had a successful career in judo before turning to pro wrestling in 1978.

Judo competition career

Adams was the first British male to win a World title, and the first British male to simultaneously hold a world title and a European title. Other achievements include a gold medal at the 1981 World Judo Championships in

Maastricht Maastricht ( , , ; li, Mestreech ; french: Maestricht ; es, Mastrique ) is a city and a municipality in the southeastern Netherlands. It is the capital and largest city of the province of Limburg. Maastricht is located on both sides of the ...

, the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, plus

silver medal A silver medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc ...

s in the

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – ...

and

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...

Summer Olympic Games The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...

and the 1983 Judo World Championships. Adams was also five-time European Champion. He is also a two times champion of Great Britain, winning lightweight and half-middleweight divisions at the

British Judo Championships The British Judo Championships are held annually and feature various age and weight categories to determine the British champion. The Championships are currently held at the English Institute of Sport, Sheffield. Until 2013, the Championships wer ...

in 1976 and 1988. On 18 December 2018 he was promoted by the

International Judo Federation The International Judo Federation (IJF) was founded in July 1951. The IJF was originally composed of judo federations from Europe and Argentina. Countries from four continents were affiliated over the next ten years. Today the IJF has 200 National ...

to kudan - 9th

Dan Dan or DAN may refer to: People * Dan (name), including a list of people with the name ** Dan (king), several kings of Denmark * Dan people, an ethnic group located in West Africa **Dan language, a Mande language spoken primarily in Côte d'Ivoir ...

at the age of 60. He was presented with his certificate of grade (at the Paris Grand Slam tournament) on 10 February 2019 by the federation's president,

Marius Vizer Marius Vizer (born 7 November 1958) is a Romanian former judoka and judo coach, and businessman. Since 2007, he has been the president of the International Judo Federation. Vizer also holds an Austrian passport. Judo Between 1995 and 2001, he w ...

Coaching career

Since retiring, Adams has run a coach education business called Neil Adams Effective Fighting, as well as teaching Judo around the world. He was national coach of VJF judo in

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

. He then became head coach of the

Welsh Judo Association The Welsh Judo Association ( cy, Cymdeithas Judo Cymru) (WJA) is the governing body for the sport of judo in Wales. The WJA has 80 affiliated clubs and over 2,400 members. It is responsible for managing the Welsh Performance Squads the National ...

, a position he took on after being asked to take up the role by close friend and chairman of the association Keven Williams, a position he resigned in March 2009.

Personal life

In the 1980s Adams was engaged to British Olympic swimming star

Sharron Davies Sharron Elizabeth Davies, (born 1 November 1962) is an English former competitive swimmer who represented Great Britain in the Olympics and European championships and competed for England in the Commonwealth Games. Davies has attended 12 c ...

. Adams married Alison Walker of Burford, and together had a son but they divorced in 2000. He met former Canadian Olympic Judoka Niki Jenkins at the Sydney Olympic Games and were married in 2002. The couple have two daughters, Brooke and Taylor, and live in Rugby.

Bibliography

* (1986) "Olympic Judo: Throwing Techniques" Pelham (with Cyril Carter) * (1986) "Olympic Judo: Variations on Groundwork" Pelham (with Cyril Carter) * (1988) "Olympic Judo: Preparation and Training" Pelham (with Cyril Carter) * (1991) "Tai-otoshi" ''Judo Masterclass Techniques'' Ippon Books * (1991) "Arm Locks" ''Judo Masterclass Techniques'' Ippon Books * (1991) "Grips" ''Judo Masterclass Techniques'' Ippon Books * (2016) "A Game of Throws – celebrating 50 years in Judo" Fox Spirit Books

In popular culture

Adams was so fondly regarded in Japan that he was given the nickname ''Happo Bigin'' (''Everyone's friend'').Judo Heroes
– 2002 Manchester Commonwealth Games website A canine version of Neil Adams made a 'guest appearance' in episode 44 of the online comic series '' Dog Judo'' On 2 December 1983, he was one of the guests on the U.K. children's programme '' Crackerjack'' together with Lynsey de Paul and

Kim Wilde Kim Wilde (born Kim Smith, 18 November 1960) is an English pop singer, DJ and television presenter. She first saw success in 1981 with her debut single "Kids in America", which peaked at No. 2 in the UK. In 1983, she received the Brit Award f ...

. Adams was also a contestant on the BBC TV series ''

The Adventure Game ''The Adventure Game'' is a game show that was originally broadcast on British television, UK television channels BBC One, BBC1 and BBC Two, BBC2 between 24 May 1980 and 18 February 1986. The story in each show was that the two celebrity conte ...

'' in 1983 He is now a commentator for the IJF.

References

External links

*
Neil Adams
at RealJudo.net (archived)
Neil Adams Corporate Health
(archived)
Video: Judo Maastricht 1981: Neil Adams (GBR) – Jiro Kase (JPN)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adams, Neil 1958 births Living people English male judoka Olympic judoka of Great Britain Judoka at the 1980 Summer Olympics Judoka at the 1984 Summer Olympics Judoka at the 1988 Summer Olympics English Olympic medallists Olympic silver medallists for Great Britain Members of the Order of the British Empire Olympic medalists in judo Sportspeople from Rugby, Warwickshire Medalists at the 1984 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1980 Summer Olympics