Four years after a back injury denied him a Commonwealth Games debut, Max Gregory is finally ready to represent Team England at Glasgow 2026.
The 25-year-old from Plymouth has been announced in Team England’s judo squad for this summer's Games and will compete in the -100kg category.
It comes four years after an ongoing spine injury saw him miss out on selection for the 2022 Games in Birmingham 2022, instead forced to start his rehabilitation the day after watching his teammates compete.
But determination now sees the athlete shoot for Commonwealth gold in Scotland after learning to live with the pain.
"It started off as a bit of back pain when I was training but nothing too severe," he said. "I just carried on training because I didn't want to take time off the mat that would take me away from judo.
"Eventually the pain became too severe, so I went to get it checked and sorted. And the scans came back saying I had spine fractures and spondylosis, a degenerative condition affecting the spine. I think it comes about from overtraining from a young age.
"But with the risk of further injury through surgery, we just decided that if we go conservative and try to get back to a point where I can train with it, so build all the strength around it and make sure that I'm safe, then we do that."However long down the line, if it's not working, then I can have the surgery."
Gregory, who won silver at the Tallinn European Open last year, found his love of judo at a young age after being inspired by his martial arts dad. Keen to take up one of the sports himself, he chose judo and the rest is history.
With his first Commonwealth Games now on the cards, Gregory's whole family is reflecting on the journey he has gone on to get there, one that his mum remembers fondly.
"I remember watching Glasgow 2014 when I was younger," he said.
"This is more so a memory that my mum keeps reminding me of, but she says that I was watching it on TV and I was like, 'Oh, I'm going to go to the Commonwealth Games one day' and she holds me to that now.
"I just remember watching it and really wanting to go. I have always loved judo, so clearly I just set my goals young."
With the management of his spondylosis under control, Gregory now comes into Glasgow 2026 off a seventh-place finish at the recent Dushanbe Grand Slam, a premier judo event.
"My ambitions are to win," he added. "Nobody wants to turn up just for the T-shirt.
"I am very happy to get the selection after missing the last one and very excited for the whole event."
