Brian Jacks

For the English author, see Brian Jacques.

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]

Brian Jacks
BJA 8th Dan, WMAC 10th Dan

Brian Jacks in 1967
Personal information
Birth name	Brian Albert Thomas Jacks
Born	(1946-10-05) 5 October 1946 (age 78) London, England
Home town	Pattaya, Thailand
Occupation	Judoka
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Sport
Country	Great Britain
Sport	Judo
Weight class	‍–‍70 kg, ‍–‍80 kg
Rank	8th dan black belt
Club	Budokwai
Achievements and titles
Olympic Games	(1972)
World Champ.	(1967)
European Champ.	(1970, 1973)
Medal record Men's judo Representing  Great Britain Olympic Games 1972 Munich ‍–‍80 kg World Championships 1967 Salt Lake City ‍–‍80 kg European Championships 1970 Berlin ‍–‍80 kg 1973 Madrid ‍–‍80 kg 1965 Madrid ‍–‍70 kg 1964 Berlin ‍–‍68 kg 1967 Rome ‍–‍80 kg 1971 Göteborg ‍–‍80 kg European Junior Championships 1964 Berlin ‍–‍80 kg 1965 Scheveningen ‍–‍80 kg 1967 Lisbon ‍–‍80 kg
Profile at external databases
IJF	54378
JudoInside.com	4951
Updated on 22 June 2023

Superstars

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

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

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]

Autobiography

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