JUDO JO WINS SILVER IN PARIS
Jo Gregory – on the nursing team at Chestnut Lodge – has just been awarded a silver medal at the Veterans’ World Judo Championships in Paris and has credited her coach, her best friend and “wonderfully supportive colleagues” for enabling her to achieve her success.
Fifty-five-year-old Jo Gregory started doing judo at the relatively late age of 42, encouraged by Shepton Judo Club coach Dianne White who discovered her when coaching Jo’s younger son.
Jo used to practise karate as a child, moving on to taekwondo as an adult, and has always been sporty – but says she was hesitant to take her first step on to the judo mat and needed a lot of encouragement from Dianne, who had intuitively identified her potential.
Six years later, in 2015, Jo started competing, and in 2019 she achieved the impressive hat-trick of winning the British Championship, being a silver medallist in the European Championships and a bronze medallist in the World Championships.
However, because judo is a close-contact sport, Covid then interrupted practice world-wide and Jo didn’t get back on the mat until just two months before the Paris competition.
Jo said: “I thought I’d hung up my belt, but Dianne White and my friend Donna Hopkins were insistent that I should give it another go, and my managers and colleagues at Chestnut Lodge couldn’t have been more supportive.
“I work a 36-hour week, supporting elderly residents who are living with dementia, and everyone has been so accommodating with shift changes to enable me to do the necessary training over those two months – which was a lot – and they were so encouraging. I am incredibly grateful because I really couldn’t have done it without having them behind me.”
Veterans’ judo caters for all judoka (judo practitioners) over the age of 30, with competitions organized by specific age groups and weight classes to ensure fairness and safety.
Jo said: “There aren’t many women of my age in the UK who practise judo, so veteran female Brits often go abroad to compete because it is important to be evenly matched with your opponent in terms of age and weight.
“It’s a great sport which operates within a very friendly environment and I would encourage other women to give it a go.”
A mum of two boys, Jo Gregory qualified as a nurse in 1991 and served with the RAF for nine years, during which time she qualified as a chiropodist. She also spent a decade as a foster parent.
Having taken some time out of nursing, in 2021 Jo did a ‘return to practice’ course, accepting a first position as a dialysis nurse and joining the nursing team at Chestnut Lodge in November 2023.
Jo said: “I love my job at Chestnut Lodge and the wonderful team I work with.
“It can be a bit of an emotional roller coaster when one of our lovely residents is at end-of-life, but it’s our privilege to support them at all times, and so rewarding to know you’re making an important contribution.”
Outside work, Jo and her partner Rob are enthusiastic campervan owners, and enjoy planning their next break.
