1984 Olympic bronze medallist Neil Eckersley 7th Dan has once again been invited by IJF President Marius Vizier to present his artwork at the upcoming 2019 World Championships in Tokyo.

Amongst his growing collection of celebrated artwork will be a judo-related piece named “Judo is more than a movement its a way of life”.

The return of Judo to its homeland, with only one year before the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, is set to delight the public in the vibrant capital of Japan, as well as worldwide. The exhibition opening will be on August 24 at 11:00am at the Kodokan Judo Institute.

Eckersley was understandably delighted to be invited back by the IJF following successful exhibitions of his work at the Baku (2018) and Budapest (2017) editions of the World Championships in previous years:

“I remember travelling to Tokyo when I was 17 years old. I’ve had an amazing life and career in our sport.”

“Being invited to exhibit my artwork in Tokyo the homeland of judo is a dream come true.”

“Who could have imagine that a street kid from Salford could reach so high. “Dare mighty things comes to mind”.

The two-time Olympian had always enjoyed art but as his judo career took off that had to take second place to his sporting passion.

However he continued to paint even when he was on the road and as someone with dyslexia he found it to be a perfect outlet for his creative urges and for expressing emotions.