Nicola Kim Fairbrother

MBE Mbe may refer to: * Mbé, a town in the Republic of the Congo * Mbe Mountains Community Forest, in Nigeria * Mbe language, a language of Nigeria * Mbe' language, language of Cameroon * ''mbe'', ISO 639 code for the extinct Molala language Molal ...

(born 14 May 1970) is a retired

judoka is an unarmed 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 Nipponica, "Judo"). ...

from the United Kingdom, who competed at two Olympic Games. She holds the 7th Dan and is one of Britain's most prominent judoka.

Judo career

Fairbrother's first significant success was becoming champion of Great Britain, winning the lightweight division 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 1989. The following year she gained her first senior international success when she won a bronze medal at the

1990 European Judo Championships The 1990 European Judo Championships were held in Frankfurt, Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most ...

in Frankfurt. In 1991, she won a bronze medal at the

1991 World Judo Championships The 1991 World Judo Championships were the 17th edition of the World Judo Championships, and were held in Barcelona, Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , nation ...

in Barcelona and won back to back British titles in 1991 and 1992. During 1992, she was selected to represent

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

at the

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...

. She won the silver medal in the women's lightweight division (– 56 kg). In the final she was defeated by Spain's

Miriam Blasco Miriam Blasco Soto (born 12 December 1963) is a professional judo competitor, who resides in Alicante, Spain. She competed at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain where she won the gold medal in Women's Judo in the 57 kg division. ...

, who later she married. Additionally, she won her first European title at the 1992 European Judo Championships in Paris. The following year in 1993, she successfully defended her European crown and won her second World title, winning gold at the

1993 World Judo Championships The 1993 World Judo Championships were the 18th edition of the World Judo Championships, and were held in Hamilton, Ontario, Hamilton, Canada from September 30 to October 3, 1993. Medal overview Men Women Medal table References

{{R ...

in Hamilton. European silver in 1994 and European gold in 1995 added to the medal collection before she went to her second Olympic Games, the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

, in Atlanta. In the women's 56 kg she was unlucky in that she drew the eventual gold medallist

Driulis González Driulis González Morales (born 21 September 1973 in Guantánamo) is a Cuban judoka who has won four Olympic medals, including a gold medal in 1996. She carried the flag for her native country at the opening ceremony of the 2007 Pan American G ...

in the quarter-finals. In 1998 and 1999, she won her fourth and fifth British Championship titles. She retired from competitive judo at the end of 1999.

Awards

In 1994, she was awarded the MBE for services to judo by HRH The Queen.

Personal life

Fairbrother is married to

. She has authored a number of children's judo books and from 2001 to 2018 she was the editor of the Koka Kids Judo magazine.

References

External links

* * * * *
Koka Kids Judo Magazine
website
British Olympic Committee
(dead link) {{DEFAULTSORT:Fairbrother, Nicola English female judoka Judoka at the 1992 Summer Olympics Judoka at the 1996 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medallists for Great Britain 1970 births Living people People from Henley-on-Thames Place of birth missing (living people) Olympic medalists in judo English LGBT sportspeople Medalists at the 1992 Summer Olympics Goodwill Games medalists in judo Lesbian sportswomen LGBT judoka Competitors at the 1990 Goodwill Games