Ashley McKenzie


Ashley McKenzie is an English judoka competing at the men's 60 kg division. He was a member of the Great Britain Olympic Judo Team at London 2012 but was defeated in the second round by Hiroaki Hiraoka of Japan. He also appeared in, and made it to the final of Celebrity Big Brother 10 in September 2012. In August 2018, he appeared on the first series of Celebs on the Farm. In January 2020, she appeared on Celebrity Ex on the Beach.
He was part of the Great Britain Olympic Judo Team at Rio 2016; he reached the third round where he was defeated by Yeldos Smetov of Kazakhstan.

Personal life

McKenzie was born in Queen’s Park, London. He is mixed-race. He was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder at an early age.
McKenzie was first exposed to judo at the age of 11, when he got into a fight with a boy who stole his Charizard Pokémon card. Determined to get it back he joined the Moberly Judo Club where he met his assailant by chance. He eventually got his card back after befriending the boy.
McKenzie welcomed his first daughter Lana-Rose McKenzie in July 2017 with girlfriend - fellow Judo player and 3 time European champion Automne Pavia.
Ashley is also a brand ambassador for , who are sponsoring him for Toyko 2020.

Career

His achievements include winning gold at the British Open in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, and 2015. McKenzie's first foray into the European U23 Championships in 2009 resulted in a bronze medal win at Antalya. In 2010, he became the second British athlete in history to be crowned an under-23 European champion when he competed in Sarajevo. In 2011, McKenzie earned bronze and gold in the European Cup competitions within Orenburg and Hamburg, respectively. He was the 2011 Judo World Cup champion within Poland and Great Britain. He also earned bronze at the European Championships 2013 in Budapest.
From 2013 to 2014, he was the back-to-back champion of the Pan-American Open in Uruguay. McKenzie would then achieve gold in the 2014 Commonwealth Games. He competed at the International Judo Federation Grand Slam 2015 in Tyumen where he won silver. McKenzie won bronze at the International Judo Federation Grand Slam 2016 in Baku.
On 15 August 2012, McKenzie entered the Celebrity Big Brother 10 reality TV series. After 24 days McKenzie made it to the final and finished in fifth place.
In May 2019, McKenzie was selected to compete at the 2019 European Games in Minsk, Belarus.
In 2020 he was part of the original cast of the eleventh series of Ex on the Beach UK.

Achievements

Complete list at judoinside.com
Grand SlamAzerbaijan2016Bronze
Grand SlamRussia2015Silver
British OpenUnited Kingdom2015British Champion
Commonwealth GamesScotland2014Gold
Pan-American OpenUruguay2014Gold
Pan-American OpenUruguay2013Gold
European ChampionshipsBudapest2013Bronze
British OpenUnited Kingdom2012British Champion
World CupUnited Kingdom2011Gold
European CupGermany2011Gold
European CupGermany2011Bronze
World CupPoland2011Gold
European U23 ChampionshipsSarajevo2010Gold
British OpenUnited Kingdom2010British Champion
British OpenUnited Kingdom2009British Champion
British Judo Association Annual AwardsUnited Kingdom2009British Junior Male of the Year
European U23 ChampionshipsTurkey2009Bronze
British OpenUnited Kingdom2008British Champion