08/07/2026
Wow! Thank you for such kind words. 💗
The Dignity of Neil Adams MBE Neil Adams Judo
The first time we saw Neil Adams in person was at a Destination Judo event in the north of England. He was the star attraction at a children’s seminar. At the end of the day, he stayed behind for photographs. A great many photographs. Every child left that day carrying a treasured memory of having shared the mat with a living legend, and Neil’s smile in the final picture of the day was as warm as it had been in the first.
I asked him to sign my copy of his excellent book, A Life in Judo. He was there with his lovely wife and children, who were quietly manning a couple of small tables laden with merchandise. As I took in the scene, I felt a quiet sadness. Not through any fault of Neil or his family, necessity, after all, is the mother of invention, but because one does not expect to see Nick Faldo or Nigel Mansell selling their wares from a pair of folding tables after a day’s work.
Neil Adams was every bit as great at his sport as they were at theirs. They competed in the same era. The difference is that Faldo and Mansell were rewarded with fortunes for their dedication. Between them, they amassed a net worth of some $150 million. Neil chose judo.
Judo, with its code and its almost religious devotion in the eyes of its faithful, has often asked its disciples to take something close to a vow of poverty. It should not be so.
As I watched him that day, patiently waiting in line with the children, one word rose above all others.
Dignity.
Neil Adams remains British Judo’s greatest ambassador, even if the organisation itself has sometimes failed to fully recognise it. His continued presence on the world stage serves as a constant inspiration to British parents and children who dream of going as far as they can in the sport. He is living proof that a working-class boy from Rugby, Warwickshire, can win five European Championships, secure eight European medals, claim four World Championship medals including gold in Maastricht in 1981, and reach two Olympic finals.
All with judo as his vehicle.
Neil was later awarded an MBE for services to sport. The British honours system has always been strangely skewed. Had he turned silver into gold, he would almost certainly have been knighted. Torvill and Dean, too, remain long overdue. Neil should have been knighted regardless of colour. Instead, we see peerages handed out to political insiders and foppish lackeys while true sporting giants are given lesser recognition.
Come on, British Judo Association. If a recommendation from you is needed to upgrade his honour in next year’s list, you should be writing to the honours committee on the hour, every hour. It is long overdue.
Priceless Value
His value to British and world judo is beyond measure. Never has the disparity between sports been more apparent than in a quiet reflection on the Monaco Grand Prix at the end of May, not so long ago.
Picture Sir Nick Faldo and Nigel Mansell CBE, brand ambassadors for Maybach and Lotus, surrounded by a gaggle of other sponsors, sitting on a yacht full of ch*****ne and elegance as they watch the race.
Meanwhile, on a cold May morning outside a sports hall in Durham, there is a man bent over the boot of his car, lifting out tables. Still giving back to the sport at every level. Still representing his country and his discipline with quiet excellence.
Arise, Sir Neil Adams KBE.
