Raymond Stevens (born 26 July 1963 in Camberley, Surrey) is a male retired judoka from the United Kingdom.[1]
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | British (English) |
| Born | (1963-07-26) 26 July 1963 (age 59) Camberley, Surrey |
| Occupation | Judoka |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Judo |
| Weight class | –86 kg |
| Profile at external databases | |
| JudoInside.com | 5002 |
Stevens started learning Judo at the age of ten[2] and gained a black belt in Judo at the age of 16.[3]
He was twice a champion of Great Britain, winning the middleweight division at the British Judo Championships in 1984 and 1986.[4] In 1986, he won the gold medal in the 86kg weight category at the judo demonstration sport event as part of the 1986 Commonwealth Games.[5]
Stevens competed in two consecutive Summer Olympics, starting in 1992, when he won the silver medal in the men's half heavyweight division (– 95 kg), in the final he was defeated by Hungary's Antal Kovács.[6] He represented England and won a gold medal in the 95 kg half-heavyweight category, at the 1990 Commonwealth Games in Auckland, New Zealand.[7][8]
He holds the rank of 7th Dan in Judo awarded to him on 10 September 2015[9] and is the Vice Chairman of the British Judo Association London Area.[10] and in 2008 he was the first person to receive a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu from Roger Gracie, he subsequently received his 2nd Dan in 2015. He opened his own purpose built Dojo in September 2017 in South London called Ray Stevens Academy. Ray Stevens Academy, located in Merton, provides expert martial arts tuition for kids and adults, specialising in Judo, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, No-Gi, Wrestling & Kickboxing [11]