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When Sam Ingram won the silver medal in judo for his weight category at the IBSA World Championships in Brazil it was no ordinary sporting achievement. This tournament was exclusively for blind or visually impaired athletes.

Sam was born with conal dystrophy and has been visually impaired all his life. He is unable to drive a car, does not see in colour and is very short-sighted. However, as Sam was quick to point out when I met up with him, his visual impairment is not something he tends to dwell on too much.

Sam (left) on the podium in Brazil

What I encountered when I was greeted by Sam at his home in Coventry was a young man with a sense of humour, a strong desire to succeed in his sport and a humble, grounded personality. 鈥淚 felt quite lucky to win silver because I think a lot of it was down to me having a good draw鈥� explained Sam, reflecting on his medal in Sao Paulo. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 expect to win, but I was very happy with how it turned out. It felt like my graduation day all over again 鈥� one of the best days of my life.鈥�

Sam first got involved in judo due to the influence of his brother, Joseph, who had taken up the martial art whilst at university. During the summer before Sam himself went on to university he tried his hand at judo and enjoyed it thoroughly. However, whist at University College Falmouth there was a dearth of serious judo clubs in the area and Sam instead focused on his Broadcasting degree. 鈥淚鈥檝e only been training seriously in judo for under a year鈥� said Sam, indicating the rapid progress he has made since leaving university as a relative beginner to medallist at an international tournament.

And training is something Sam has definitely taken to; 鈥淥ver the last year I鈥檝e been to France, Germany, Spain, Azerbaijan, Brazil, as well as London and Bath for training or tournaments鈥�. After finishing fifth in the European Championships earlier this year, Sam鈥檚 success in Brazil means he has now also qualified for a place at the Beijing Olympics as part of Great Britain鈥檚 Paralympics judo team, an astonishing achievement for someone who will be fighting opponents vastly more experienced.

As Sam explained, the difference between visually impaired and sighted judo is minimal in terms of rules: 鈥淎part from the fact that the fighters have to grip each other under the arm at the start, there鈥檚 not much else which is too different. The real difference is in the technique as visually impaired judo is more based on strength rather than speed.鈥� This similarity translates into the judo community as the visually impaired judokas tend to mix in with the sighted ones. 鈥淚t makes for a really nice atmosphere. It鈥檚 very social and at the club I train at you couldn鈥檛 meet a nicer bunch of people鈥� said Sam.

And Sam believes that this is the way it should be 鈥� athletes are athletes regardless of a disability. 鈥淎 lot of visually impaired people end up getting pigeon-holed and institutionalised, but I think the best way to go about life is to try to lead it as normally as possible鈥�, believes Sam. 鈥淏ut at the same time, it鈥檚 about acceptance. If sighted people accept visually impaired athletes then they will accept themselves.鈥�

Sam鈥檚 ability, strength and skill are the attributes which made him a medallist and with the way he intends to apply himself for the Olympics, one can only wish him success for the future. Sam鈥檚 example is one to certainly inspire anyone: visually impaired or fully sighted.