A FORMER Olympic judo medallist is now set to showcase his artwork at the Bejjing Winter Olympics.

Neil Eckersley, originally from Little Hulton, has led an interesting life, having won gold at the Los Angeles summer games in 1984 and bronze in Seoul four years later.

After some time coaching the England team, Neil honed his artistic talents and will be virtually showcasing his work at this year’s Winter Olympics.

The Olympic Agora is a cultural project overseen by the Olympic Foundation for Culture and Heritage and looks to represent artwork created by Olympians.

Neil said: “I have been working with the International Olympic Committee in Switzerland for a few months now for this. I have been chosen as one of five to present three examples of my work.

"There was a cultural event in Greece when the Olympics first started, so this is just going back to that.”

Although Neil, 57, can’t be there himself, a physical copy of his works will be shown at the Olympic village.

He said: “It’s just unbelievable, like I am in the Olympics again. It feels as if I’m representing my country in a different way, but I don’t have to do all the training.”

Neil excelled in both sport and art when he was younger, and it was art that saved him after the tragic death of his brother.

He said: “It also helps with my dyslexia since I was young. I consider myself a Bolton lad although I live in Lancaster now.

“I even moved to Norway before moving back to the UK, because I had started a judo programme there. I was concentrating on my art as well and produced work for Michelin star restaurants, so I’ve had an amazing life so far.”

Neil got into judo during his summer holidays aged nine, after his next-door neighbour’s mum signed them both up for judo in Walkden to keep them from causing any trouble.

He said: “I went there and there was something about it that made me love it. I carried on. I’m still involved with them today at 57. Art is easy for me, it just feels very natural. I’m going to be doing a talk as well, so I get to tell them my story on how I got here. Not bad for a dyslexic lad from Bolton, is it?”