Craig Fallon

Craig Patrick Fallon (18 December 1982 – 15 July 2019)[1] was a British World Champion judoka.

Craig Fallon
Fallon in 2008
Personal information
Birth nameCraig Patrick Fallon
NationalityBritish
Born(1982-12-18)18 December 1982
Ipswich, Suffolk, England
Died15 July 2019(2019-07-15) (aged 36)
Wellington, Shropshire, England
Sport
CountryGreat Britain
SportJudo
Medal record
Men's Judo
Representing  Great Britain
World Championships
2005 Cairo -60 kg
2003 Osaka -60 kg

Career

In September 2005, Fallon won the -60 kg weight class at the World Judo Championships in Cairo, beating Ludwig Paischer in the final. He became only the third British male to win a world title, following Neil Adams in 1981 and Graeme Randall in 1999.

In 2006, he went on to become European champion in Tampere, Finland in the -60 kg weight category beating Armen Nazaryan in the final. He is only the second male British judoka besides Neil Adams to simultaneously hold both a World and European title.

On Saturday 22 September 2007, Fallon went on to win The 2007 Men's World Cup in the -60 kg at the NIA Arena in Birmingham, he was the only Brit to win a medal at the Olympic ranking event.

His first main coach was Bill Kelly. Fallon later competed with his coach Fitzroy Davis.

In 2012, the former Wolverhampton Judo Club ace was inducted into the Wolverhampton Sporting Hall of Fame.[2]

In 2017, Fallon signed a contract as head coach of the Federal Judo Association of Vorarlberg, Austria.[3]

In 2019, Fallon made the move to Welsh Judo Association to become Head of Coaching.[4]

Death

Fallon died on 15 July 2019. His body was found at the Wrekin, a beauty spot near Wellington in Shropshire.[5] No cause of death was given.[6] The coroner at the inquest judged that Fallon had died by suicide.[7]

References
  1. "Obituary: Craig Fallon". Britishjudo.org.uk. 16 July 2019.
  2. "More sporting heroes prepare to enter city's Hall of Fame". Wolverhampton City Council. Archived from the original on 6 October 2012. Retrieved 17 March 2013.
  3. "Weltmeister Fallon hilft Judo auf die Sprünge". Vol.at.
  4. "Welsh Judo appoints Craig Fallon as Head of Coaching". Ijf.org.
  5. "British judo legend Craig Fallon dies at age of 36". judoinside.com.
  6. "Craig Fallon: Former world and European judo champion dies at 36". 16 July 2019 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  7. Wilson, Jeremy (30 October 2019). "Coroner judges that former British Judo champion Craig Fallon killed himself". The Telegraph.


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