Chris Skelley

Christopher Skelley (born 9 August 1993) is a British Paralympic judoka who competes in the visually impaired under 100kg category. In 2016 it was announced that he has been selected to represent Great Britain at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio.[1]

Chris Skelley
Personal information
NationalityBritish
Born (1993-08-09) 9 August 1993
ResidenceKingston upon Hull, United Kingdom
Sport
CountryBritain
SportJudo
Event(s) –100 kg
ClubWalsall Centre of Excellence
Haltemprice Judo
Achievements and titles
Paralympic finals2016 Rio
Medal record
Representing  Great Britain
IBSA European Championships
2015 Portugal 100 kg

Personal history

Skelley grew up in Kingston upon Hull, England. As a youth he was a keen athlete and enjoyed many sports playing rugby for Hull Ionians.[2] After leaving school he took a job at a local garage, but it was noticed that his eyesight was deteriorating.[3] He was diagnosed with ocular albinism.[4]

Judo career

Skelley took up judo as a sport at the age of five.[4] A successful judoka, he was already part of the England squad when his eyesight began to fail. He slowly began to focus more on his judo and was brought onto the Great Britain visually impaired team.[4] Competing in the under 100kg category, Skelley took three bronze medals at the under-20 national tournament between 2010 and 2013.[5] In 2014 he represented his country at the Scottish Open, taking gold in his division. The same year he won silver in the Welsh Senior Open.[5]

In December 2015 Skelley represented Britain at the IBSA European Judo Championship in Portugal.[6] There he missed out on the final after being beaten by a last second yuko scoring throw by his Russian opponent Abdula Kuramagomedov, the current world champion.[6] Skelley secured the bronze by beating Ibrahim Bolukbasi of Turkey.[6] In February 2016 Skelly was selected as part of a four-man to compete for Great Britain at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio, along with Sam Ingram, Jack Hodgson and Jonathan Drane.[1] In the build-up to the Games, Skelley and his three team-mates travelled to Rio in early March to take part in a Judo Grand Prix competition. Skelley took bronze in his match in a contest which featured many of the competitors who had already qualified for the Summer Paralympics.[7]

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References
  1. "Paralympic Games: Great Britain's team for Rio 2016". BBC Sport. 20 February 2016. Retrieved 27 February 2016.
  2. "Chris Skelley". britishjudo.org.uk. Retrieved 15 February 2016.
  3. "Christopher Skelley". judoinside.com. Retrieved 15 February 2016.
  4. "Visually Impaired Friendly Judo: A Guide for Supporting Visually Impaired Adults and Children in a Judo Environment" (PDF). britishblindsport.org.uk. p. 8. Retrieved 15 February 2016.
  5. "Christopher Skelley". judoinside.com. Retrieved 15 February 2016.
  6. "Great Britain win three medals at IBSA European Judo Championships". disabilitysportsnews.com. Retrieved 15 February 2016.
  7. "Jono Drane wins Judo Grand Prix bronze on injury return". BBC Sport. 7 March 2016. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
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