Loretta Doyle (also known by her married name Cusack, born 12 July 1963) is a Scottish

judoka is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, combat sport, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyc ...

who won the under-52 kg event at the 1982 World Championships, and the under-56 kg event at the

1990 Commonwealth Games The 1990 Commonwealth Games () were held in Auckland, New Zealand from 24 January – 3 February 1990. It was the 14th Commonwealth Games, and part of New Zealand's 1990 sesquicentennial celebrations. Participants competed in ten sports: at ...

. Doyle also won the

European Championships A European Championship is the top level international sports competition between European athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. In the plural, the European Championships also refers t ...

1983 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning of the ...

and

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

Career

Doyle started judo at the age of 10, and three years later, she joined the British Judo team. Doyle competed at the inaugural

World Judo Championships The World Judo Championships are the highest level of international judo competition, next to the quadrennial judo events at the Summer Olympic Games. The world championships are held by the International Judo Federation annually, except the c ...

for women in New York 1980. She was one of seven

at the event, and won a bronze medal. She came third at the 1980 European Championships, and second at the

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 6 – A funeral service is held in West Germany for Nazi Grand Admiral ...

and 1982 European Championships. She won the under-52 kg title at the 1982 World Championships. Doyle won the under-52 kg event at the 1983 European Championships in Genoa, Italy. Doyle had to pay her own costs to compete at the 1984 World Championships; she had to borrow the money from her father. In the Championships, Doyle suffered a separated shoulder and had to be taken to hospital. Doyle came second at the

1986 Commonwealth Games The 1986 Commonwealth Games were held in Edinburgh, Scotland, between 24 July and 2 August 1986. This was the second Commonwealth Games to be held in Edinburgh. Thirty two of the eligible fifty nine countries (largely African, Asian and Caribbe ...

in Edinburgh, Scotland where judo was a

demonstration sport A demonstration sport, or exhibition sport, is a sport which is played to promote it, rather than as part of standard medal competition. This occurs commonly during the Olympic Games but may also occur at other sporting events. Demonstration sport ...

. That year, she lost the British Open Championships final to Sharon Rendle. Rendle was chosen instead of Doyle for the 1986 World Championships. That year, Doyle also came third at the 1986 European Championships in London. Doyle lost in the first round of the 1989 European Championships. Doyle won the lightweight event (under-56 kg) at the

, beating Australian Suzanne Williams in the final. It was Scotland's first medal in Judo at the Commonwealth Games. She came second in the under 52 kg event at the 1991 European Championships, losing to Jessica Gal in the final. Doyle won the under-52 kg event at the 1992 European Championships in Paris, France. Doyle was not selected for the

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics (, ), officially the Games of the XXV Olympiad (, ) and officially branded as Barcelona '92, were an international multi-sport event held from 25 July to 9 August 1992 in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Beginning in 1994 ...

. In addition to her international success, she won eight British titles at the British Judo Championships. After retiring, Doyle worked as a coach for the British Judo Association. In that role, Doyle coached Sally Conway. In 2019, she set up the ''Loretta Doyle Judo Foundation'', to help fund young judo enthusiasts.

Personal life

Doyle was married to Billy Cusack, who won a bronze medal at the 1990 Commonwealth Games in the men's lightweight judo event; the pair were married before Doyle's appearance at the 1986 Commonwealth Games. The pair have two children, and Doyle found out that she was first pregnant when she went for a medical examination prior to the 1992 Olympic selection. She said she was disappointed not to be selected, but "delighted" that she was pregnant. The pair are now divorced.

References

External links

* * *
Commonwealth Games Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Doyle, Loretta 1963 births Living people Scottish female judoka British female judoka British sports coaches Commonwealth Games gold medallists in judo Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Scotland Judoka at the 1990 Commonwealth Games Medallists at the 1990 Commonwealth Games 20th-century Scottish sportswomen