Shaun Mitty, 54, from Leigh-on-Sea, Essex took part in the three-day contest in Las Vegas between 4-7 November.

The four-time British champion took up judo at the age of seven and insisted, after years of hard work, he was determined not to settle for silver despite his injuries.

“I wasn’t going to let a broken rib get in the way,” he said.

Mitty became the first and only British gold medallist of the tournament in the M5 -90kg category, beating opponents from Brazil, Spain, the USA and Sweden.

He said: “I was ecstatic, you work very hard for these things.

“It took six months of solid training to fight”.

He was considering pulling out and taking silver due to his injuries.

In judo, players who cannot compete come on to the matt and “bow out” as a form of courtesy to their opponents.

“Luckily the painkillers kicked in,” he said.

“The excitement overall is everything. That enabled me to dig deep and do it.”