Adams Way, CR0

Place Name

Neal Adams (born September 27, 1958) was Britain’s finest ever male judoka although the official Team GB website says it is ironic that he “should be as much remembered by two bouts he lost as for his many international tournaments victories”. He was the first British male to win a World title, and the first British male to simultaneously hold a world title and a European title. Other achievements include a gold medal at the 1981 World Judo Championships in Maastricht, the Netherlands, plus silver medals in the 1980 and 1984 Summer Olympic Games and the 1983 Judo World Championships. Although favourite for gold at the 1984 Los Angles Olympics he lost concentration during the final against little-known German Frank Wieneke who seizing his opportunity defeated the Briton, the first such defeat of his entire career. Although he won a fifth European title in 1985, he was never quite the same fighter after his Olympic disappointment and retired after a final Olympic appearance in 1988. Adams became a leading coach after his retirement from competition and has been head coach to the Great Britain and Belgian national teams. In addition he has produced films and technical manuals about the sport. His elder brother, Chris Adams, narrowly missed selection for the 1976 Olympics but later left the sport for a career as a professional wrestler in America. Chris Adams was killed in a shooting incident in a Miami barroom in 2001. We had originally attributed this street to Nicola Adams OBE (October 26, 1982) who was an Olympic boxer who notched up a double gold after winning at London 2012, and again at Rio 2016, both in the flyweight division, however former local councillor for Woodside ward, Brian Finegan, has pointed out that the Brickworks was built in the early/mid 90s and therefore Nicola would have been in her early teens, too young to have been featured. For this road like many on the former brickworks site in Woodside, is named after British Olympic athletes of the time. The cluster includes Christie Drive, Redgrave Close, Backley Gardens, Goodhew Road, Akabusi Close, and Coe Avenue.