Simon Jackson

Simon Jackson , MBE , (born May 28, 1972 ) is a British cyclist and former judoka . The visually impaired Paralympian remained undefeated in 159 international fights between 1988 and 2000, winning the gold medal at the Paralympic Games in 1988 , 1992 and 1996 and the bronze medal in 2000 . At the beginning of 2008 he switched to track cycling, where he competes in the tandem competition for the visually impaired and at the beginning of May 2008 was able to celebrate two second places in the World Cup victory with the former British team sprint champion Barney Storey , but was not nominated for the Paralympics 2008 .

career

Jackson started judo at the age of eleven, despite his visual impairment, and achieved 1st Dan ("black belt") at the age of 18. At this point he had been undefeated in competition for almost two years and won gold medal at the Paralympics. Up to the semifinals at the Paralympics 2000 he won every fight and became three times world champion, but then failed because of the eventual winner, Cuban Isao Rafael Cruz Alonso .

At the next Paralympics in 2004, Simon Jackson lost in the first round after a very controversial decision in which he was thrown at the edge of the mat shortly before the end. Jackson stayed on the mat in protest and caused a scandal at the 2004 Games. In the following year Jackson was able to win the European Championship, his tenth European title, but ended his judo career due to back problems.

Jackson has been participating in track cycling tandem races since early 2008 . In 2012 he was part of the team commenting on the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London for Channel 4 .

In December 2012, Simon Jackson was charged with claiming £ 10,000 on taxi rides that he did not take. He had applied for the money to get to his job as a teacher. It turned out that his wife had driven him to work. On January 22, 2013, Jackson was sentenced to four months of community service and a curfew. He paid back the money and legal fees.

Jackson was a member of the Judo Committee of the International Blind Sports Federation and was named Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for his services to disabled sports .

Web links

• Web site Jackson ( english )
• Simon Jackson. ParalympicsGB, accessed December 31, 2013 . 

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Profile of Jackson on the 2004 Paralympics page ( visited August 18, 2008. ).
2. ↑ Paralympic World Cup 2008 - Manchester: 9th May 2008 - Day 2 - Afternoon Session ( Memento of the original from 10 October 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Announcement on the British Cycling Federation website ( visited August 18, 2008. ). 
3. ^ " Judo blow for Jackson ", BBC Sport report dated September 19, 2004 ( visited August 18, 2008 ).
4. ↑ Rachel Quarrell, “ Jackson's tenth gold, ” Sportsbite, April 16, 2005 ( visited August 18, 2008 ).
5. ↑ Unprecedented Rolling Coverage for London 2012. International Paralympic Committee (IPC), May 28, 2012, accessed August 7, 2013 . 
6. ↑ James Rush: Blind Paralympic judo star stole £ 10,000 in disability benefits after claiming for taxi rides he never took. Daily Mail, January 22, 2013, accessed August 7, 2013 .