Alonzo Henderson finished 5th at the 1979 World Judo Championships – the best result ever achieved by an Irish judoka at a World Championship to that point – and competed at the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games, where he suffered a surprise defeat to Niokhor Diongue of Senegal in what Dr Tom Hunt describes as ‘a bad day in the office.’

A graduate of the Dublin Judo Club at Parkgate Street – described in Dr Tom Hunt’s history as ‘the Kerry of judo’ for its wonderful community spirit – Henderson had prepared for Moscow on a full-time basis at Crystal Palace with the British Olympic squad and its two professional coaches for the year before the Games: six hours a day, six days a week, on self-financed leave of absence from the civil service, supplemented by support from the Galway Judo Club.

His defeat to the Senegalese athlete was unexpected and brought an abrupt end to an exceptionally thorough period of preparation.