Courtesy of a bronze medal won at Los Angeles 1984  Brown is one of a growing number of British judoka to have won an Olympic medal.

But none have yet managed to take that elusive gold.

However, speaking at the launch of British Judo's Centre of Excellence in Walsall on Tuesday (November 12), Brown believes times could be about to change.

"We have to be calculated in terms of what we need to do to produce an Olympic champion at Rio [2016] and beyond," he told insidethegames.

"We now have this sense of wanting to mirror the great performances of Team GB and what Britain now needs is our first Olympic judo champion.

"We have come close on many occasions, but unfortunately have not been able to deliver that.

"British Judo has always had a healthy production of athletes coming through, and coming off the success of London 2012, where we did very well at our home Games, we are looking to continue that.

"Maybe now the outcome will be that one of the athletes in this room could be that soon - coming soon we have the silhouette of a frame which says 'Olympic champion' by the door.

"They will be able to say, 'That could be me.'"

The new training facility for British Judo should help to achieve the gold medal dream ©British Judo



Brown has been in the job for a year now after surviving allegations of his unsuitability due to being stripped of a second bronze medal won at the Seoul 1988 Games for taking banned performance enhancing drugs.

It is very much a new era for British Judo with the new chairman being accompanied by a new chief executive Andrew Scoular and performance director Nigel Donohue.

However, although Britain have had plenty of international success in 2013 they drew a medals blank at the World Championships in Rio de Janeiro in August.

Brown admitted his first 12 months has been "frustrating", but also "interesting with lots to do."

"We have lots of structures to build but it's been fantastic to unite the associations under one roof," he said. 

"Now we want performances to match that.

"When you take over a system you need time for it to bed in - the system before probably wasn't the best in terms of where we are today, and we didn't have a Performance Centre of this standard.

"Since the new performance director, Nigel [Donohue], took over the helm we have been able to give a detailed analysis of where we need to be now, in Rio and by [Tokyo] 2020." 

Brown was not the only member of Britain's growing club of Olympic medalists who attended the unveiling of the Centre of Excellence.

Sydney 2000 runner-up Kate Howey was present in the guise of her current role as lead coach of the women's team while also appearing was Dennis Stewart, who won an under 95kg bronze medal at Seoul 1988.

Dennis Stewart is another former British Olympic medalist who is now coaching the next generation ©Getty Images


As a local resident Stewart is especially pleased with the new Centre of Excellence.

This is also and particularly because one of the full time athletes will be son Max, one of Britain's up and coming fighters aiming for future Olympic success.

Although he admitted that he "wouldn't mind one or two more silvers" Stewart senior insisted to insidethegames that gold is what "we're after and what everyone wants."

He sees the structure provided by the new facility as particularly important, but also admitted the many changes undergone since his days as an athlete deems it far tougher to reach the summit of the sport.

This particularly relates to the number of countries competitive at the highest level, which has been increased by developments such as the formation of many new countries after the break up of the Soviet Union. 

If the aim is to be realised, however, British Judo would do well to listen to someone who has already won the Olympics in Sydney 2000 heptathlon champion Denise Lewis, present to unveil the new centre. 

Denise Lewis is one athlete who knows what it takes to win an Olympic gold medal ©Getty Images


So what does Lewis believe it takes to take that extra step to the top of the podium?

"I think its believing that you can do it - a lot of people they dream about it, they think about it, but they don't necessarily believe that it's possible sometimes," she told insidethegames. 

"It doesn't start on the track, or wherever you are but in training facilities.

"You have to train like a champion and act like a champion, so you have the discipline required for the stage when you are actually competing."

Lewis, who is from Wolverhampton, also described similarities between her sport of athletics, and judo.

"I think you have to train hard, there are no short cuts in any sport, whichever one you choose," she said. 

"You saw the gym, state of the art with a big functional hall, it will be catered specifically to judo but anyone could walk in there and get a really good session in. 

"I see the similarities because there are no shortcuts to get to the top.

"You've got to work hard and that's like anything in life."