Para judo has been part of the Paralympic Games program since 1988 where only male judoka participated, women began to compete at the 2004 Summer Paralympics. B1, B2 and B3 judoka have all competed against each other since the sport was introduced in the Summer Paralympics, the J1 (B1) and J2 (B2) classifications will be competed separately in the 2024 Summer Paralympics. [1]
Anthony "Tony"Laurence Clarke,, is the only Australian Paralympic judoka gold medallist. He represented Australia at five Summer Paralympic Games and medalled at the 1993 Australian National Judo Championships competing against sighted opponents.
Paralympic judo has been contested at the Summer Paralympic Games since 1988. The sport is restricted to visually impaired competitors. Men's and women's events are held in various weight classes, just like judo at the Summer Olympics. More than 130 visually impaired judokas, including some from the United States, Canada, France, Germany, Greece, Spain and Sweden, competed in the Rio 2016 games, making it the biggest yet staged.
Burkina Faso made its Paralympic Games début at the 1992 Summer Paralympics in Barcelona. The country was represented by a cycling tandem, a judoka and a powerlifter. Judoka Mathieu Thiombiano was also one member of the cycling pair; Burkina Faso's delegation thus consisted in three competitors. None of them won a medal.
Jodi Glenda Willis-Roberts, OAM is a visually impaired Australian Paralympic athlete and goalballer.
Noel Thatcher is a British Paralympic runner who represented the United Kingdom at six Paralympic Games between 1984 and 2004, collecting a total of five gold medals. His two career highlights are winning gold and setting a world record at Barcelona in 1992, and winning the 5k race in Sydney in 2000, again setting a world record. At the 2004 Games in Athens, he carried the flag for the Great Britain team at the opening ceremony.
B1 is a medical-based Paralympic classification for blind sport. Athletes in this classification are totally or almost totally blind. It is used by a number of blind sports including blind tennis, para-alpine skiing, para-Nordic skiing, blind cricket, blind golf, five-a-side football, goalball and judo. Some other sports, including adaptive rowing, athletics and swimming, have equivalents to this class.
B2 is a medical based Paralympic classification for blind sport. Competitors in this classification have vision that falls between the B1 and B3 classes. The International Blind Sports Federation (IBSA) defines this classification as "visual acuity ranging from LogMAR 1.50 to 2.60 (inclusive) and/or visual field constricted to a diameter of less than 10 degrees." It is used by a number of blind sports including para-alpine skiing, para-Nordic skiing, blind cricket, blind golf, five-a-side football, goalball and judo. Some sports, including adaptive rowing, athletics and swimming, have equivalents to this class.
Disability judo classification is the medical classification system for disability judo. Judokas with a disability are classified into different categories based on their disability type. The classification is handled by the Blind Sports Association.
The Turkish Blind Sports Federation is the governing body to encourage and develop the sport for the blind and vision-impaired in Turkey. It is a member of the International Blind Sports Association (IBSA) and the International Paralympic Committee (IPC).
Ecem Çavdar Taşın is a Turkish female visually impaired judoka competing in the −48 kg division. She studied sport management at Trakya University in Edirne, Turkey.
Mesme Taşbağ is a Turkish visually impaired judoka competing in the heavyweight (+70 kg) division. She is a physician by profession.
Utkirjon Nigmatov is an Uzbek judoka and Paralympian competing in the weight category up to 66 kg. He is the champion of the 2016 Summer Paralympic Games, a medalist in World Championships, winner of the Summer Para Asian Games, and a medalist in World Cup and Grand Prix events in Para Judo.
Arina Kachan is a Belarusian judoka, who has been ranked number one in the world in the women's + 70 kg weight class. She has won multiple medals for her country at the IBSA World Games, IBSA European Judo Championships and the IBSA World Judo Championships.
Ramona Brussig is a German judoka and two-time gold medal winner in Paralympic competition.
Judo at the 2020 Summer Paralympics in Tokyo took place at the Nippon Budokan from 27 to 29 August 2021. There were 138 qualified slots in 13 events: 7 male events and 6 female events.
Cherine Abdellaoui is an Algerian Paralympic judoka. She won the gold medal in the women's 52 kg event at the 2020 Summer Paralympics held in Tokyo, Japan. She also represented Algeria at the 2016 Summer Paralympics held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and she won a bronze medal in the women's 52 kg event.
Irina Kalyanova is a Russian Paralympic judoka. She represented Russia at the 2008 Summer Paralympics held in Beijing, China and at the 2012 Summer Paralympics held in London, United Kingdom and she won two medals: a bronze medal both in the women's +70 kg event in 2008 and in the women's +70 kg event in 2012.
Viktoriya Potapova is a Russian Paralympic judoka. She represented Russia at the Summer Paralympics in 2004, 2008 and 2012. She won a bronze medal on each occasion: in the women's 48 kg event in 2004, in the women's 48 kg event in 2008 and in the women's 48 kg event in 2012. She also represented the Russian Paralympic Committee athletes at the 2020 Summer Paralympics held in Tokyo, Japan and she won one of the bronze medals in the women's 48 kg event.
Zeynep Çelik is a Turkish world and European champion Paralympic judoka with visual impairment.
Elliot Stewart is a British Paralympic judoka. At the 2020 Summer Paralympics, he won a silver medal in the men's 90 kg event.
