Interview with Ben Quilter
Sport: Judo
Lives: Brighton
Born: 08/10/81
Ben won a world cup silver medal in 2001, a European Championships bronze medal in 2001 and finished 5th at the World Championships in 2002 and 2006. His ambition is to compete at a Paralympic Games and win a medal.
Interview Transcript
Ben Quilter and I do Judo.
Q How did you get into your sport?
A I started when I was seven and I literally just went along because my brother was doing it, and some of my friends from school were doing it and just went along really.
Q What do you enjoy most about your sport?
A The challenge, it is always, always challenging, its never the same, the training is aways varied and there is so much to learn - you never get to the end, you can always improve. You are always learning and adding on new skills. There is always, always something to build on and add to.
Q what does a typical day in your sport involve?
A The competing and the training are two very different things. You gear all your training around fighting somebody else and competing against somebody else. I do three different types of training - judo training, the skill work and fighting, and all the supplementary stuff in terms of weights, running and stuff like that.
Q How do you relax when you are not competing or training?
A I just try and have a normal life when I'm not training because when you are training it takes up so much of your time and everything is put on hold, so I just spend time with my family and friends and stuff, and just unwind, chill out on the beach, if it's sunny that is!
Q What do you hope to achieve in your sport in the future?
A I would like to..., I've not yet been to a Paralympics, I would like to go to a Paralympics and win a medal, hopefully at London, but hopefully at Beijing as well.
Q What advice would you give someone wanting to take up Judo?
A Give it a go and if you do do it, make sure you stick at it; it definitely, definitely gets easier the more you do it. The more you put in, the more you get out.
Q What did you get out of this trip to Macau?
A It has been good actually, and it has been good to suss out what's around, what the surroundings are like, what sort of training we can expect if we come back out here, and yes, it has been good to learn the culture and what food sort of we are going to eat so we don't go nuts and fail the weight class.
