GEORGE Light, from Solihull, won gold representing Great Britain at the European Judo Union’s (EJU) first-ever Adaptive Judo event in Venray, Netherlands.
The 17-year-old, who lives in Cheswick Green, won gold in his adaptive class at the Nihon Dutch Open after qualifying for the competition at an event in Cardiff back in September.
And GB judo came away with 20 medals in total with Light winning one of eight gold medals GB won across both the Adaptive and VI categories.
Light overcame athletes from Slovakia, Norway and Netherlands to claim gold with some 25 countries represented in total at the event.
George’s father Adrian said: “It just made the whole weekend, everyone looks after each other but George is so calm, he just got on with it.
“His first opponent retired and his second opponent, George threw him and won the contest.
“You just can’t put into words how proud you are, he was phenomenal.
“Adaptive sports are so important for people’s wellbeing, George struggled with team sports but he thrives in a one-on-one environment, he loves it.
“It does wonders for him, not just physically but the mental side of it as well.”
George is a member at Solihull Judo Academy and had the support of father Adrian and his uncle Allan Cook throughout the competition.
