Manx judoka Chris Horton has returned from Paris after competing as part of a 100-strong GB squad at the World Veterans Judo Championships.

Although he exited in the preliminaries to France’s Alan Cariddi, the result capped off a strong end to the season - one that saw Horton drop from his usual u100kg class to u90kg, following an intense summer of conditioning.

The move came only weeks after claiming British Championships bronze at u100kg in July.

The transition wasn’t without its challenges. His first outing at the lighter weight brought a seventh-place finish at the Heart of England Championships in Walsall.

But early October brought a busy day at the North West Open in Leigh. After coaching juniors Noah Hughes (fifth) and Jole Kennaugh (second) to strong results, Horton discovered he’d missed weight by just 1kg, forcing him into the u100kg Veterans division.

Giving away size but not intent, Horton leaned on his trademark yoko sutemi-waza, securing a string of clean throws to reach the final against familiar rival Shargeel Akhtar.

The Blackpool fighter took the bout to the ground early and claimed victory via a waza-ari hold-down.

After a short reset, Horton stepped straight into the senior event. Another solid run took him to a second final of the day - this time against Blackburn’s Kyle Green.

Following a cautious start, Green landed a decisive lunging ko-soto-gake, leaving Horton with his second silver in as many hours.

Later in October, Horton travelled to Dublin for the Irish Masters Open, this time making weight comfortably at u90kg.

The opening round brought early danger as he conceded a waza-ari hold-down, but he escaped with only three seconds left and immediately turned the tables with a full 20-second newaza hold to advance.

A strong tani-otoshi counter sent him into the semi-finals, before a throw-and-hold waza-ari combination booked his place in another final.

Despite an early yuko score, he was eventually caught in an armlock and forced to settle for silver number three.

Despite carrying a shoulder injury, Horton also entered the open-weight category, conceding a huge 25kg weight disadvantage in his opening contest.

After dropping into the repechage, he battled through to claim bronze, sealing a successful trip with two medals and valuable mat time.

Reflecting on his autumn campaign, Horton said: ‘Overall I’m pleased with my performances.

‘Dropping to u90kg has been a challenge, but I’m adapting well and I’m excited to tighten up my gripping and posture once I’ve had a bit of recovery time.

‘I’m also looking forward to preparing a team for the 2027 Island Games in the Faroe Islands, so 2026 is already shaping up to be a busy year.’

Horton also thanked Bryn at Elite Therapy and Ruth Cooil Physiotherapy Services for keeping him competition-ready throughout a demanding run of events.

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