| 11 May 2008 - Two Paralympic Silver Medals for Former Judo Star Simon Jackson MBE |
| Former Paralympic Judo Star Simon Jackson MBE caused a sensation at the Paralympic World Cup held in Manchester’s Velodrome on 8th and 9th May. |
| Having teamed up with former world record holder Barney Storey, widely acknowledged as one of the best pilots in the sport, Jackson announced his arrival to the world of Cycling in style. Competing in the Tandem Kilometer Time Trial on Thursday, the Australians set an early lead with 1:07.998, and with that the pressure was building for Jackson who had never competed in this event before. |
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| A good start was needed and Jackson and Barney delivered, posting a world class time of 1:04.982, and with another two heats remaining they knew it was going to take another phenomenal performance to beat them. It took fellow GBR teammates and current champions John Norfolk and Anthony Kappes to do so, posting a new world record with 1:02:008 and leaving the Silver medal to Jackson and Storey. |
| The Second day of the event saw another fantastic start in Jackson’s new sport when he posted 10.661 seconds in the Tandem Time Trial. Once again it took another world record from John Norfolk and Anthony Kappes with 10.334 seconds to put a stop to the Jackson’s gold medal hopes but he remains optimistic and pragmatic and the message reverberating around the cycling world is that the new kid on the block means business. Jackson said “I’m not even in my third week of cycling yet and so it is absolutely fantastic. I’ve got a new lease of life. I’m a bit of a psychopath and I like fighting and competing – that’s why I’m on a bike now. I got a back injury about a year and a half ago which forced me to give up judo but I still wanted to compete. I love this – it’s fantastic. Barney has been pulling me along for a couple of weeks but I think I was pushing him on that last lap.” |
| Jackson certainly received a lot of support from the crowd who gave loud cheers as he punched the air in celebration and to say thanks to all those who came to see him. I asked him where does he go from here? Jackson says, “I am just keeping training now with a focus on more bike specific exercises and concentrating on qualifying times. I want to go to Beijing so I am going to work hard to get there.” Only time will tell but having watched the events unfold in at the Velodrome I certainly wouldn’t bet against his ticket to China. |
