65-year-old Judo master from Bognor Regis eyes world championship gold in Saudi Arabia

It’s “the opportunity of a lifetime” for the now-retired London taxi driver, who lives in Elmer and will be fighting in the Men’s Under 100 KG division of the Veterans tournament in Saudi Arabia this October.

"A lot of the other players are ex-Olympians and things like that, so it’s a tough competition, but it would be fabulous just to be on that rostrum,” he said. “When you get to 65, it’s one thing just to be vertical. The way I see it, they’re just as old as I am, so they probably hurt just as much as me; it’s not as if they’re going to ache any less. It’s a fair match really.”

If Mark’s competition record is anything to go by, it’s more than a fair match. He’s fresh off a gold medal win at the European Masters Games, which was held in Finland, earlier this month, and he’s also gunning for a win at the British championship this October, just two weeks before the world championship itself.

It’s hard work preparing for competitions like that so, when he’s not at home, Mark divides his time between VK gym in Bognor, Croydon Judo Club and Chichester Ronin Judo Club.

“It would be nice to get the triple, and this is kind of my last chance, so I have to work hard to stay injury free,” he said. “The guys at Chichester are great to train with between them and the team at Croydon, I get a lot of hard work done.”

With success as a junior and as an adult competitor, Mark has spent a lifetime on the ‘tatami’, and forged some real friendships along the way. Though he loves the spirit, the competition, and the physicality of judo, it’s the friends he has made and lost along the way that he’ll be thinking of when he steps up to fight later this year.

"I keep a photo on my phone of all the clubmates I’ve lost over the years. This is as much for them as it is for me, they’re the drive behind it.”