Judo champ prepares for new moves
A BRITISH judo champion has set up shop in Holmfirth as she takes the daunting next step in her life.
Kelly Staddon, five times British champion and a European U23 bronze medallist, has travelled the world representing her country.
But amid troubles with coaching and uncertainty that she’d qualify for the 2020 Olympics, she has decided to hang up her black belt and move into the ‘real world’.
Like many ex-professional athletes, Kelly, 24, says the decision to retire involved plenty of emotional turmoil.
Having found herself making the transition from fighting in gyms and arenas to working parttime in Halfords, Kelly found herself becoming overwhelmed with anxiety and doubt that she had done the right thing.
She has now set up a sports massage clinic and has vowed to do all she can to help any former sports star with their mental health, especially in the wake of two recent suicides in the judo world – one of whom, Craig Fallon, was a successful fighter who had already qualified for next year’s Olympics in Japan, birthplace of the sport.
Kelly, who is backing World Mental Health Day on October 10, had to overcome a heart defect to make it as a champion athlete.
She spent the first months of her life in London’s Great Ormond Street Hospital after open heart surgery saved her life when she was just eight weeks old.
Doctors told her parents she would always be weaker than average, but she defied their predictions to become an internationally successful athlete.
She said: “Having been told I wouldn’t be the strongest or sportiest child, I grew up to prove people wrong.
“I started judo at four years old and became British champion by the age of 10.
“I’ve been a professional judo player since 19 and I have had the most fantastic experiences fighting the best players in the world.
“Competing for my country at the Junior World Championship in Dubai in 2015 was a dream come true for me. I also went on to win the bronze medal at the U23 European Championships in 2017.
“I was trying to qualify for the Olympics but I wasn’t improving and when my coach was sacked I felt it wasn’t doing me any good to continue.”
But after making the difficult decision to retire, Kelly was then struck by profound doubt that she had been “weak” in giving up the sport.
She said the fighter’s spirit to never give up was an emotion that a lot of sportsmen and women probably battled with when they gave up their profession.
“At the time I felt quite weak for quitting,” she said.
“I’ve always had to be tough because I’ve been in sport and you just have to get on with it.
“But the tough decision is to leave and not stay somewhere where you’re not progressing.”
Since leaving the sport five months ago, Kelly said no-one from the GB camp had got in touch to find out how she was coping.
She added: “I feel like there is still a lack of understanding about mental health in sport.
“The aftercare for athletes after sport needs to be improved.
“I want to inspire other young people – and also those who, like me, have a heart defect or disability – to show that they can overcome what they think may hold them back and follow their dreams.
“I also want to encourage athletes like myself to embrace their new life after sport, and not be scared to take the plunge into the real world.
“A normal job can be very daunting to someone who has known nothing but sport their whole life.
“Mental health awareness is at an all-time high, and I am extremely passionate about the mental well-being of professional athletes.”
Kelly, who hails from Essex, has launched a sports massage and nutrition clinic called Living Well within the Health Kitchen at Hollowgate, Holmfirth.