Tributes have been paid to Juergen Klinger, the long-serving and never too way back retired Head of Judo on the Faculty of Bathtub, who has died on the age of 71.
Juergen was a much-loved and influential member of the Workforce Bathtub family from 2006 to his retirement in January 2020, organising a worthwhile teaching programme that developed a bunch of British champions and worldwide medal winners at every stage. That included the Olympic Video video games the place Sports activities actions Effectivity graduate Gemma Gibbons, who expert with Juergen from 2006 to 2009, acquired silver at London 2012. Emmanuel Nartey moreover represented Ghana on the 2012 Video video games and Juergen delayed his full retirement from top-level instructing until August 2021 to info siblings Ben and Megan Fletcher to the delayed Tokyo 2020 Video video games, the place Prisca Awiti-Alcaraz moreover competed for Mexico. Ahead of the Video video games, Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Video video games gold medallist Megan, who was coached by Juergen for 13 years, said, “We’ve had a really nice experience collectively and the journey has been spectacular. Juergen actually instructed me the other day he is proud of me and he is an individual of few compliments! It was his closing occasion, so it was really specific that it was an Olympic Video video games with me and Ben.” Sooner than transferring to England, Juergen, whose judo career dates once more to 1963, was Assistant Nationwide Coach of his native Germany for 15 years and leaves a powerful legacy every all through the game he cherished and the Workforce Bathtub communities. Stephen Baddeley, Director of Sport on the Faculty of Bathtub, said, “Juergen was a commanding presence all through British and worldwide judo and one of many important revered and admired Workforce Bathtub coaches, a family of which he was immensely proud to be a element.
He constructed a powerful Workforce Bathtub Judo programme which now offers a strong and turning into legacy to his immense contribution to sport at Bathtub. Our concepts are alongside together with his partner Sandra, who was moreover a key part of the Workforce Bathtub judo family, and with a know-how of judo athletes with whom he had a strong and enduring connection.” Juergen, who was born in Hanover in 1951, first sparked his curiosity in judo aged 12 and after incomes a coaching academic diploma from Cologne moved from rivals to teaching in 1979. He was the regional coach for Lower Saxony from 1982-2004, a coach on the Olympic Teaching Centre in Hanover from 1990-2004 and Assistant Coach for the German Judo Federation from 1990-2005, sooner than transferring to England in 2006 to affix Workforce Bathtub. When he retired in 2020, Juergen spoke of his satisfaction as part of Workforce Bathtub’s multi-sport environment, serving to a bunch of judoka combine high-performance sport with a top-class education on the Faculty of Bathtub. Whereas there Jeurgen said, “The issue that makes me really proud is that our programme helps to create individuals who discover themselves worthwhile in every sport and education they usually’re ready for all instances. We have athletes who’ve acquired worldwide medals and British titles whereas incomes undergraduate and Masters ranges, along with a PhD in human rights from Mr Nartey and one in biomechanics from Jan Gosiewski.