Brian Jacks

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Brian Jacks
BJA 8th Dan, WMAC 10th Dan
Brian Jacks in 1967
Personal information
Birth nameBrian Albert Thomas Jacks
Born (1946-10-05) 5 October 1946 (age 77)
London, England
Home townPattaya, Thailand
OccupationJudoka
Height1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Sport
CountryGreat Britain
SportJudo
Weight class‍–‍70 kg, ‍–‍80 kg
Rank     8th dan black belt
ClubBudokwai
Achievements and titles
Olympic GamesBronze (1972)
World Champ.Bronze (1967)
European Champ.Gold (1970, 1973)
Medal record
Profile at external databases
IJF54378
JudoInside.com4951
Updated on 22 June 2023.

Brian Jacks (born 5 October 1946)[1] is a British judoka who won Britain's first medal at a World Championships taking a bronze in Salt Lake City 1967,[2] and gained a second bronze at the 1972 Munich Olympics.[1][3]

Superstars[edit]

Brian Jacks later achieved national fame, due to his enormous upper body strength, for his performances on the BBC programme Superstars,[4] all-around sports competition that pits elite athletes from different sports against one another in a series of athletic events resembling a decathlon. He was one of the most successful competitors and dominated the British and European version of the contest from 1979 to 1980, winning four titles.

Jacks was most famous for his efforts in the gymnasium, where he repeatedly set records in the "gym tests", including 100 parallel bar dips in 60 seconds in the 1981 Challenge of the Champions, and 118 squat thrusts in the 1980 World Final.[citation needed] He was also very dominant in the weightlifting, canoeing and cycling events, rarely placing lower than second. Jacks was never able to win the World Superstars title, being forced to miss the 1979 event due to illness and finishing third in 1980. In 1981 he was beaten for the first time in Europe (by Keith Fielding) and would never again compete in Superstars.[5][6]

His victories in the British and European Superstars led to the creation of the branded computer games: Brian Jacks Superstar Challenge and Brian Jacks Uchi Mata.[6]

Superstars record[edit]

Year Event Position
1979 British Heat 2 1st
1979 British Final 1st
1979 European Final 1st
1980 British Final 1st
1980 International 1st
1980 World Final 3rd
1981 Challenge of the Champions 3rd

Retirement[edit]

After retiring from judo he opened a fitness and martial arts club, and in 1990 he started a company hiring bouncy castles. In 1984 he briefly appeared on the BBC show Micro Live, where he set up his new Atari 800XL with his family.[7]

Jacks lives in Pattaya, Thailand and runs a 60-room hotel/condo building.[8]

Jacks has held the official judo rank of 8th Dan from the British Judo Association (BJA) since November 1994.[9] Although considered retired from judo since the 1990s, and until recently rarely seen on the judo scene for more than 20 years, Jacks is now listed by a British multi-martial arts organization called World Martial Arts Council, as a 10th Dan.[10]

Autobiography[edit]

  • Brian Jacks: The Mindset of a Champion, Brian Jacks, 2017 - ISBN 978-9811140792

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Brian Jacks". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 3 December 2016.
  2. ^ "The History of the Budokwai". 2005. Archived from the original on 15 September 2006. Retrieved 19 October 2006.
  3. ^ "Brian Albert Thomas Jacks Biography, Olympic Medals, Records and Age". Olympics.com. Archived from the original on 30 September 2023. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
  4. ^ "Superstars: A brief history". BBC. 5 November 2004. Archived from the original on 30 September 2023. Retrieved 19 October 2006.
  5. ^ Majendie, Matt (22 May 2018). "Magician, superstar and raconteur -- the curious life of judoka Brian Jacks". CNN. Retrieved 12 October 2023.
  6. ^ a b "Alliance". WorldMAC. Retrieved 12 October 2023.
  7. ^ Micro Live Brian Jacks follow up on YouTube (2007-02-20). Retrieved on 2014-01-23.
  8. ^ "A Night of Magic at Manhattans". Pattaya Mail. 2004. Retrieved 19 August 2010.
  9. ^ "British Judo Association – Dan Grade Register". British Judo Association. 22 November 1994. Archived from the original on 14 July 2018. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
  10. ^ "WorldMAC News". World Martial Arts Council. Retrieved 15 October 2017.

External links[edit]