Ashley McKenzie
Ashley McKenzie (born 17 July 1989) is a judoka competing at the men's 60 kg division.[1] Born in England, he represents Jamaica internationally and has competed for Great Britain in the past. He was a member of the Great Britain Olympic Judo Team at London 2012 but was defeated in the second round by Hiroaki Hiraoka of Japan. He also appeared in, and made it to the final of, Celebrity Big Brother 10 in September 2012. In August 2018, he appeared on the first series of Celebs on the Farm. In January 2020, he appeared on Celebrity Ex on the Beach.
Personal life
[edit]McKenzie was born in Queen's Park, London. He is mixed-race. He was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) at an early age.[2]
McKenzie was first exposed to judo at the age of 11, when he got into a fight with a boy who stole his Charizard Pokémon card. Determined to get it back he joined the Moberly Judo Club where he met his assailant by chance. He eventually got his card back after befriending the boy.[3]
McKenzie welcomed his first daughter Lana-Rose McKenzie in July 2017 with girlfriend - fellow Judo player and 3 time European champion Automne Pavia.
Ashley is also a brand ambassador for The Money Group, who are sponsoring him for Tokyo 2020.
Career
[edit]His achievements include winning gold at the British Open in 2008,[4] 2009,[5] 2010,[6] 2012,[7] and 2015.[8] McKenzie's first foray into the European U23 Championships in 2009 resulted in a bronze medal win at Antalya.[9] In 2010, he became the second British athlete in history to be crowned an under-23 European champion when he competed in Sarajevo.[10] In 2011, McKenzie earned bronze and gold in the European Cup competitions within Orenburg[11] and Hamburg,[12] respectively. He was the 2011 Judo World Cup champion within Poland[13] and Great Britain.[14] He also earned bronze at the European Championships 2013 in Budapest.[15] From 2013[16] to 2014,[17] he was the back-to-back champion of the Pan-American Open in Uruguay. McKenzie would then achieve gold in the 2014 Commonwealth Games.[18] He competed at the International Judo Federation Grand Slam 2015 in Tyumen where he won silver.[19] McKenzie won bronze at the International Judo Federation Grand Slam 2016 in Baku.[20]
On 15 August 2012, McKenzie entered the Celebrity Big Brother 10 reality TV series. After 24 days McKenzie made it to the final and finished in fifth place.[21]
In May 2019, McKenzie was selected to compete at the 2019 European Games in Minsk, Belarus.[22]
In 2020 he was part of the original cast of the eleventh series of Ex on the Beach UK. In 2023, McKenzie competed on the reality-competition series The Challenge UK.[23]
In 2023, McKenzie switched allegiances to Jamaica and captured a silver medal at the 2023 CAC Games.[24]
Achievements
[edit]Complete list at judoinside.com[25]
| Grand Slam | Azerbaijan | 2016 | Bronze |
| Grand Slam | Russia | 2015 | Silver |
| British Open | United Kingdom | 2015 | British Champion |
| Commonwealth Games | Scotland | 2014 | Gold |
| Pan-American Open | Uruguay | 2014 | Gold |
| Pan-American Open | Uruguay | 2013 | Gold |
| European Championships | Budapest | 2013 | Bronze |
| British Open | United Kingdom | 2012 | British Champion |
| World Cup | United Kingdom | 2011 | Gold |
| European Cup | Germany | 2011 | Gold |
| European Cup | Germany | 2011 | Bronze |
| World Cup | Poland | 2011 | Gold |
| European U23 Championships | Sarajevo | 2010 | Gold |
| British Open | United Kingdom | 2010 | British Champion |
| British Open | United Kingdom | 2009 | British Champion |
| British Judo Association Annual Awards | United Kingdom | 2009 | British Junior Male of the Year[26] |
| European U23 Championships | Turkey | 2009 | Bronze |
| British Open | United Kingdom | 2008 | British Champion |
References
[edit]- ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Ashley McKenzie". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 4 December 2016.
- ^ "Olympic 'bad boy' Ashley McKenzie says judo saved him". bbc.co.uk. 20 July 2012.
- ^ "'ADHD wrecked my life until I discovered judo' says Commonwealth Games champion Ashley McKenzie". mirror.co.uk. 25 May 2015.
- ^ "British Open 2008" (PDF). britishjudo.org.uk. 8 May 2008.
- ^ "Olympic Spotlight: Ashley McKenzie". voice-online.co.uk. 1 March 2012. Archived from the original on 3 April 2016. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
- ^ "2010 LONDON BRITISH OPEN" (PDF). s2.e-monsite.com. 18 May 2010.
- ^ "Judo Joy For Team GB". voice-online.co.uk. 14 May 2012. Archived from the original on 3 April 2016. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
- ^ "British Open: Ashley McKenzie among GB champions". bbc.com. 13 July 2015.
- ^ "European Championships U23 2009" (PDF). intjudo.eu. 23 November 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 April 2016. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
- ^ "McKenzie lifts European under-23 title". insidethegames.biz. 20 November 2010.
- ^ "European Cup Seniors Orenburg 2011" (PDF). alljudo.net. 24 May 2011.
- ^ "Britain claim nine medals at German European Cup". insidethegames.biz. 25 July 2011.
- ^ "London 2012 - McKenzie wins gold at Polish World Cup". uk.sports.yahoo.com. 1 March 2011.
- ^ "Ashley McKenzie wins gold at Judo GB World Cup". bbc.com. 2 October 2011.
- ^ "Britain's Ashley McKenzie wins European judo bronze". bbc.com. 25 April 2013.
- ^ "Judo - McKenzie one of three British winners in Montevideo". uk.sports.yahoo.com. 18 March 2013.
- ^ "Judo - British judokas McKenzie and Clark shine in Uruguay". uk.sports.yahoo.com. 19 March 2014.
- ^ "Gold for McKenzie in -60kg Judo". bbc.com. 1 January 2015.
- ^ "IJF Judo Grand Slam Tyumen 2015 Day 1 Recap & Photos". fightnetwork.com. 18 July 2015. Archived from the original on 17 September 2016. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
- ^ "Alice Schlesinger claims -63kg gold at Baku Grand Slam". bbc.com. 7 May 2016.
- ^ "Ashley Mckenzie comes fifth in Celebrity Big Brother". digitalspy.com. 7 September 2012.
- ^ "Team GB squad announcement for the European Games". Team GB. 21 May 2019. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
- ^ Cartmill, Claire. "The Challenge UK is a sporting fight for £100,000". News Letter. Retrieved 23 February 2023.
- ^ "JOA boss hails judo performance as monumental achievement - Jamaica Observer". 27 June 2023.
- ^ "ASHLEY MCKENZIE - JUDOKA". judoinside.com. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
- ^ "Ashley McKenzie is thankful he found judo". news.bbc.co.uk. 20 August 2010.
External links
[edit]- Official website
- Ashley McKenzie at the International Judo Federation
- Ashley McKenzie at the International Judo Federation
- Ashley McKenzie at JudoInside.com
- Ashley McKenzie at AllJudo.net (in French)
- Ashley McKenzie at Olympics.com
- Ashley McKenzie at The-Sports.org
- Ashley McKenzie at IMDb
- 1989 births
- Commonwealth Games gold medallists for England
- Commonwealth Games medallists in judo
- Jamaican male judoka
- English male judoka
- Jamaican people of English descent
- English people of Jamaican descent
- Judoka at the 2012 Summer Olympics
- Judoka at the 2016 Summer Olympics
- Judoka at the 2020 Summer Olympics
- Judoka at the 2024 Summer Olympics
- Living people
- Olympic judoka for Great Britain
- Martial artists from London
- Judoka at the 2014 Commonwealth Games
- Judoka at the 2015 European Games
- Judoka at the 2019 European Games
- European Games competitors for Great Britain
- Judoka at the 2022 Commonwealth Games
- Medallists at the 2014 Commonwealth Games
- Medallists at the 2022 Commonwealth Games
- Participants in American reality television series
- Central American and Caribbean Games silver medalists for Jamaica
- Central American and Caribbean Games medalists in judo
- People with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
- 21st-century English sportsmen