Anthony Clarke

Anthony "Tony" Laurence Clarke, (19 June 1961), is the only Australian Paralympic judoka gold medallist. He represented Australia at five Summer Paralympic Games and medalled at the 1993 Australian National Judo Championships competing against sighted opponents. Personal life Clarke was born in Adelaide, South Australia on 19 June 1961 and was raised in Kilburn, Adelaide. He began drinking at age 14 and moved out of home the following year to work as a "sanitation engineer". His judo coach and mentor Michael Headland perceived "a life which was not going to amount to anything". In 1978 Clarke lost control of the wheel of his car and drove it into a Stobie pole. He later recalled watching his hands fill with blood until he passed out. When he regained consciousness he was blind and his mother, Marjorie, had permitted the surgical removal of his left eye. In 2004 she recounted to ABC Television presenter George Negus, "the doctor said, 'you'd be a good advertisement for don't drink and drive'". Clarke learned braille and computer skills using screen-reading technology, and spent two and a half years hitch-hiking across Australia and New Zealand, ensuring "the dog is well visible to get a sympathy lift."