Jane Bridge

This article is about the judoka. For the mathematical logician, see Jane Kister.

Jane Bridge
Personal information
NationalityBritish (English)
Born (1960-02-04) 4 February 1960 (age 64)
England
OccupationJudo coach
Sport
CountryGreat Britain
SportJudo
Weight class‍–‍48 kg
Rank     8th dan black belt[1]
Achievements and titles
World Champ.Gold (1980)
European Champ.Gold (1976, 1978, 1980)
Medal record
Women's judo
Representing  Great Britain
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 1980 New York -48 kg
European Championships
Gold medal – first place 1976 Vienna -48 kg
Gold medal – first place 1978 Cologne -48 kg
Gold medal – first place 1980 Udine -48 kg
Profile at external databases
JudoInside.com4903

Jane Bridge (born 4 February 1960) is a British retired judoka and judo coach.[2][3]

Judo career

Bridge came to prominence winning the gold medal at the 1976 European Judo Championships in Vienna.[2] The following year in 1977, she became champion of Great Britain for the second time, winning the bantamweight division at the British Judo Championships. She had first won the title in 1975.[4]

In 1978, she won her second European Judo Championships gold medal, after winning the –‍48kg category at the women's 1978 European Championships in Cologne.[2] In 1980, she won her third Eureopean Championship gold. The same year Bridge won a gold medal at the inaugural women's 1980 World Judo Championships in New York. She defeated Anna de Novellis in the final of the –‍48kg category.[2][5]

In 1982, she won a third British Championship at bantamweight.[4]

Coaching

From 1993 to 1997 she coached the British women's judo team and taught Performance Judo at the University of Bath.[6] In 2016, Bridge began working with the European Judo Union as Vice President for Education.[7] In 2022, she started working for the Swedish Judo Federation as sporting director.[8] She also started coaching Tara Babulfath, who won bronze at the 2024 Summer Olympics in the Women's 48 kg weight class.[9]

Other

After retiring from judo she lived in Paris and was once a bodyguard to Sylvester Stallone and Alain Delon.[2]

References

  1. ^ "Jane Bridge". International Judo Federation. Retrieved 1 August 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Jane Bridge". JudoInside. Retrieved 20 August 2022.
  3. ^ "FIRST WOMEN'S WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS #7 CATCHING UP WITH JANE BRIDGE". British Judo. Retrieved 20 August 2022.
  4. ^ a b "British Championships - Event results". Judo Inside. Retrieved 20 August 2022.
  5. ^ Keith, N (9 October 1981). "'What women fight for'". The Times. p. 40 – via Times Digital Archive.
  6. ^ "Jane Bridge – Performance Coach", TeamBath, University of Bath, retrieved 20 August 2020
  7. ^ Cowen, Thea (21 August 2020). "Through the Keyhole: Jane Bridge". European Judo Union. Retrieved 1 August 2024.
  8. ^ Rönnebrand, Klara (November 2022). "Utbildningssatsningen med Jane Bridge" [The training initiative with Jane Bridge]. Swedish Judo Federation (in Swedish). Retrieved 1 August 2024.
  9. ^ Cowen, Thea (27 July 2024). "Sweden's First Olympic Medal in Paris". European Judo Union. Retrieved 1 August 2024.