Legend Ilias Iliadis will be at London Area Universities & Colleges Open

Olympic gold medallist Ilias Iliadis is set to appear at the London Area Universities and Colleges Open on Sunday 24 November 2013 at The University of East London.

The Georgian-born Greek judoka won a gold medal for his home nation Greece at the Athens 2004 Olympics in the 81kg division, aged just 17.

The judo legend also went on to take another gold six years later at the 2010 World Judo Championships in Tokyo in the −90kg category.

It is also fitting that, 18 months after he also took Olympic bronze at London 2012 in the -90kg division, he will also be presenting some of the medals at this event too.

The venue itself also has an Olympic connection. It was the place of study for Great Britain’s Olympic silver medallist Gemma Gibbons and is a few minutes walk from the ExCel Centre.

During Iliadis’ stay he will also be a guest of the Budokwai. British Judo’s London Area Chairman Peter Blewett said that he hopes that this will be the first in a number future events to promote judo in the capital city.

The university event event started four years ago as a BJA development initiative and is coordinated by Karen French, London Area Secretary who has overseen the growth of this competition since its inception.

Her hard work has seen this established as one of the premier university competitions in Britain.

Over the years the event has grown in size and although it is in the London area, it has been known to attract entries from as far as Scotland.

Service Manager Andrew Wilesmith continued: “This event is a great development tool for judoka of all abilities, from elite judoka to newcomers to the sport.

“There is currently a big push on getting colleges and universities to enter it as, as it remains a key part of British Judo.”

To find out more about how to take part in the event which takes place at SportsDock, University of East London, Docklands Campus, University Way, London, E16 2RD, email: londonjudosecretary@gmail.com or click here for more details.

Words by Donna Richardson