At the time of judo’s Olympic début in 1964 David Starbrook was a 19-year-old and had stepped onto a judo mat for the first time only a few months previously. Despite the handicap of a late start in the sport he moved quickly through the ranks of the middleweight division to become British champion and in 1971 won a bronze medal at the World Championships. Starbrook originally planned to compete at the Munich Olympics as a middleweight but failed to make the weight at the preceding European Championship and opted to move to the 93 kg class instead. Starbrook had defeated [Shota Chochishvili] in the early rounds in Munich but the Soviet came back into the competition via the repechage and when the two men fought again in the final it was Chochishvili who had the upper hand. The Briton was runner-up at the European Championship in 1973 and won another world bronze the same year. The bronze medal performances would continue at the 1974 and 1975 European Championships and finally at the Montreal Olympic Games. Again it was to a Soviet fighter, in the shape of Ramaz Kharshiladze that Starbrook tasted defeat. Noted for his physical toughness and rigorous training schedule, he published a training manual titled “Judo – Starbrook Style” and was at one time joint head coach of the British men’s judo squad.
Great Britain