The star of judo practitioner Elvis Gordon, competing out of the Wolverhampton Judo Club, rose quickly during the early 1980s as he made a name for himself winning countless heavyweight events in his native Britain. Although he competed in this division at the 1984 Summer Olympics – eliminated in the opening round by eventual bronze medalist Jo Yong-Cheol – he did not truly emerge as an international talent until 1987, when he captured a silver medal at that year’s Judo World Championships in the open category. He followed this up with a gold medal in the open division at the 1988 European Judo Championships, complementing the bronze he won at the 1985 edition. He also competed at the 1988 Summer Olympic Games, but was again stopped in the first round. In 1990 he won gold medals in both the heavyweight and open events at that year’s Commonwealth Games. He retired in 1992, but not before capturing another bronze medal at the year’s European Championships – again in the open category – and finishing among the top 10 competitors in the heavyweight division of the 1992 Summer Olympic judo tournament. Outside of athletics he worked as a school caretaker and, shortly before being stricken with pancreatic cancer that would claim his life, re-emerged as a masters-level judo practitioner, capturing a silver medal at this at the 2009 British national masters tournament.
