Silver for Sarah in Georgia

Sarah Clark was the outstanding British performer at the 2009 European Judo Championships in Tbilisi, Georgia, on the weekend of April 24-26.

Sarah, who this year dropped from the -63kgs weight category to -57kgs, was the only British medallist, coming home with a well deserved silver. It is the third European medal for double Olympian Clark who won bronze at the 2004 European Championships and was European Champion in 2006 in the -63kg weight category.

Her first contest pitted her against the reigning -57kg Olympic Champion, Italy's Guila Quintavalle. Despite not scoring against Quintavalle, Clark dominated and won the contest 3-0 on a refereeing flag decision (known as Hantei where referees and judges deciding the winner using a majority decision – displayed by the lifting of a blue or white flag).

In the next round she overcame Viola Waechter (GER) with a Yuko in golden score.

Ioulietta Boukouvala of Greece, who won the prestigious Paris Tournament this year, had won both her contests in the preliminaries by Ippon and faced Clark in the semi-finals.

Clark, again, controlled the contest, outgripping the Greek, but again failed to throw her opponent. Once again it went to flags and there was little doubt over her victory as she took a unanimous decision.

Lying in wait for Clark in the final was Telma Monteiro, Portugal's World Champion at the lighter of -52kgs.

Monteiro started strongly, attacking Sarah with speed and movement. But once Sarah had settled into her stride, she used her superior strength and reach to contain the Portugeese.

For the third of the day Sarah's contest went to flags. Somewhat harshly she lost the decision 3-0. Still, a European silver medal for Sarah was a great result and has justified her switch in weight category.

Commenting on Sarah's win Patrick Roux, British Judo Head Coach said, “I am delighted with Sarah Clark's fantastic performance in Tbilisi. She was very unlucky not to win the decision in the final, which in my opinion should have been hers. Throughout the day, Sarah combined a great balance of tactical intelligence and aggression- this performance and Sarah’s professionalism should inspire the entire GB team".

Unfortunately Sarah Adlington was injured prior to competition and had to withdraw from the event.

British Judo name team for 2009 European Championships

British Judo has named its team for the 2009 European Championships taking place in Tibilisi, Georgia, from the 24th -26th April 2009. The team consists of 5 players from the Edinburgh Judo Club.

Edinburgh Club player Sarah Clark is the only European gold medallist featured but will compete at -57kg, a category lighter than -63kg, in which she held the 2006 title. The Beijing Olympian, who only recently moved to the -57kg category, got the nod after winning bronze at the Prague World Cup and gold at the Belgium Open.

The only other former European medallist is 2007 bronze medallist Euan Burton, The 2009 European Senior Championships marks the completion of the first part of the foundation stage in the preparation for London 2012 Games. The 18 month period started with the British trials at the beginning of November 2008, and has been a phase of planning for the structure for British Judo’s Elite Performance Programme.

Euan and Sarah will be joined in the team by 3 more Edinburgh Judo Club players

Sally Conway -70kg
Sarah Adlington +78kg
James Millar -60kg

Edinburgh Club Success at Scottish Open 08

On Saturday 26th October a team of primarily younger fighters from the Edinburgh Club made an appearance at the Scottish Open, held in the prestigious Kelvinhall International Sports Arena in Glasgow. For some, the event was merely preparation for next week's British Trials in Sheffield; for others, it was a chance to re-affirm themselves as a top competitor in Scottish Judo.

In the Senior Men's competition, 60kg player Graham Trinder (currently training as a full-time athlete here in Edinburgh) succeeded in his goal of being undefeated. He put in a fine performance, beating the skilled Wayne Lomax in the final. The -66kg category was slightly more disappointing with David Millar being robbed of victory early on due to a poor refereeing decision - what was clearly a slip counted against him as ippon! Despite this setback early on, David pulled it back to win the bronze medal. I'm sure he'll be disappointed not to have won but there's no doubt he'll be back for more.

The senior -73kg category looked extremely interesting with Patrick Dawson, Alan MacDonald, Joe Cooney and Nicky Thwaits (all full-timers at the club) fighting for that elusive gold medal!! All put in commendable performances, but credit must go to Patrick and Alan who both won bronze in the biggest male category of the day. Joe just missed out on a medal, coming in at 5th place, Iain Feenan, fighting at the higher weight of -81kg in preparation of the British Trials, didn't disappoint. He comfortably dispatched of his opponents despite having some strong competition from the strong and technical Ian Johns in the final. Chris Sherrington +100kg also made light work in storming through to the gold medal, great performances from all the Edinburgh Club men!

In the Senior Women's competition, the Edinburgh Club continued it's winning streak. Leanne Black -48kg was unfortunate to win only silver after a highly controversial final that could have gone either way. There was much promise in her performance and she'll be back for revencge at the next opportunity! Danae Harris, on of the club's junior players, won the bronze medal at -52kg - a great achievement! In the -63kg category, Connie Ramsay put in a strong performance. In the final she couldn't manage to bring back gold this time, but I'm sure the disappointment of getting silve will only serve as an incentive to train even harder and come back stronger.

The Junior (under 20) competition also proved success for the Edinburgh Club fighters. Although David Jones and Jonny Dewar failed to bring back medals in the extremely competitive -60kg weight group, both put in a performance to be proud of. In the -73kg group, Adam Cooney and Daniel Dunn scored some fantastic ippons, with Daniel gaining bronze medal for his efforts. Despite this, I'm sure he was capable of being in the running for gold as he lost to a player he'd previously beaten. With this is in mind, there's no doubting Daniel will be top of the podium in years to come with the highest level of coaching expertise on offer here in Edinburgh. Oliver Trigges -81kg secured a bronze medal in his comeback from injury. However, there is a great deal of work on in terms of both judo technique and strrength and conditioning.

Danae Harris should be congratulated on winnimg another bronze medal; this tim in the junior category. Team-mate Jodie Mullen echoed Danae's result gaining a well deserved bronze medal in the -63kg category. The colour of her medal is no reflection on how Jodie fought; she put in an excellent performance to beat some top-level junior British fighters. Despite Vicky Barrance coming just short of a medal in 5th place in the -70kg weight division she should be highly commended on a great effort from one of the youngest fighters of the day.

Frank Taylor put in an incredibly gutsy performance to win a silver medal in the -/+ 100kg category, there was a huge amount of grit and determination shown by the Edinburgh club's very own Senior Beginner's Coach: well done Frank!

All in all, a big well done goes out to all the fighters that took part. Whether or not you medalled, or took the medal you wanted, you all fought your heart out! Finally, a massive thank you to Lee, Tony, Tommy, Iain Euan & everybody else who played a part in coaching on the day; without you guys the club wouldn't be a fraction of how successful it currently is!

Author

Oliver Triggs

British Trials - Sheffield 1/11/2008

Back in 2007 it seemed like a pretty good result when The Edinburgh Club won 4 out of 4 gold medals. However, with the highest level of coaching and the most dedicated of athletes in all of Britain, it is understandable how we managed to win 6 gold medals this year!

After an arguably disappointing Olympic Games in Beijing, the British Trials held in Sheffield on 1st November marked the start of the new Olympic cycle. This competition is extremely important for all high-performance judoka in Britain; the medallists gain a place on the prestigious GB Senior Squad, as well as cementing themselves as hopefuls for the Olympics in London 2012. With this is mind, the competition looked at tought as ever; everybody was out there to prove a point and make an impression in the opening major tournament in the run-up to London.

In the -60kg category, James Millar was there to defend his title of British Senior Champion 2007. He didn't disappoint! Winning every fight (4 of which with ippon), he proved yet again that he's the man to beat in the lightest of the mens' categories. Graham Trinder, a new comer to the full time group, put in a fantastic performance to win the bronze medal and secure his place on the Senior Squad for 2008/09. The highlight of the -60s for me has to be Trinder throwing Ashley McKenzie for ippon to pick-up in the last fight, I think most would agree judging by the crowd's reaction!

The -66kg category looked especially tough this year. Craig Fallon, former World Champion, had moved up from the -60s, whilst there was tough competition from people like JR Baldrick. Despite this, David Millar (Junior Club Coach and James' wee brother) battled through gaining an extremely well deserved bronze medal. Iain Feenan, fighting in the -73 category, also fought well to receive a bronze medal. Despite the medal not being the colour Iain would have wanted (Iain won this event in 2007) there's no doubt he will be up there come London!

Fighting in the -81kg category, Matthew Purssey regained his title after he claimed the bronze in 2007. He put in a superb performance, coming back to win the final with a perfect Uchimata for ippon after trailing a score. In the -90kg category

Sam Ingram, currently Paralympic Bronze Medallis, made his British Team debut. Despite not fulfilling his ambition of making it onto the Senior Squad this time, there's no doubt Sam has the dedication, talent and drive to achieve his goal. Watch out next year.

At 100+kg, Royal Marine and full-time Edinburgh Club athlete Chris Sherrington was looking for revenge after his bronze medal in 2007. Revenge is what he got! Chris fought fantastically, which was testament to the extremely focused training regime running up to the competition. With his powerful armlock and supremem fitness Chris is a force to be reckoned with.

In the women's side of the competition, The Edinburgh Club fighters were equally successful! Leanne Black, -48kg, fought extremely considering she is one of the youngest medallists. After moving up a weight from last year, Kirstene Feenan continued her medal streak winning a bronze in the 57kg category. Like her brother Iain, I'm sure she'll be disappointed not to have won gold. However, if she keeps training at the level she is, combinec with utilising the best coaching available here in Edinburgh, there's no doubt she'll be winning gold in the near future.

Congratulations to Connie Ramsay for a fantastic performance in the highly competitive -63kg category. She put in an outstanding effort all day, and was rewarded with a place on the Senior GB Squad. Sarah Clark should also be commended on a fine display judo after winning the same category - well done girls.

In the -78kg category Lindsay Purves went out to win gold and that she did. There was some dynamic Judo and it was clear to see how effective the weights and conditioning programme along with the judo training here in Edinburgh is!

Finally, Sarah Adlington defended her +78kg title destroying the field. She's now properly cemented herself as the favourite in Great Britain to go to London - well done Sarah!

Overall, The Edinburgh Club won an incredible 6 gold medals and 6 bronze medals. This puts the club well in front of any other British club in terms of success at the highest level of competition. What makes this achievement even more outstanding is the fact that two of our top players were recovering from injury and didn't take part. Sally Conway, winner in 2006 & 2007, was the strong favourite to win the -70kg category. Unfortunately Sally sustained an injury to her leg during a randori session; we wish her a speedy recovery. Euan Burton, who took 7th place at the Olympic Games in Beijing this summer, is recovering from a shoulder operation and is currently in the process of light randori to ge back to his usual fitness.

The results speak for themselves, Edinburgh's the place to be if you want to achieve your potential in judo! We've proved yet again that despite not having the most funding or the the most modern of facilities, The Edinburgh Judo Club reigns supreme in churning out champions! Well done everyone.

Medal Table

	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
Edinburgh Club	6		6	12
Pinewood	3	1	2	6
Team Bath	1	4	2	7
Wolverhampton	1	1	1	3
Camberley	1	1	1	3

Bronze for Clark in Prague

Beijing Olympian Sarah Clark won a bronze medal at last weekend’s Prague World Cup, which took place on the 28th February & 1st March in the Czech capital.

It is the second medal in as many tournaments for the Edinburgh player who since the Beijing Games has moved down to the -57kg weight category from -63kg, a category in which she was also successful winning a European Championships in 2006.

In February the 31-year-old also won gold at the Belgium B Tournament in Arlon.

Commenting on her decision to change weight category Clark said, “I have been playing with the idea of moving down for a little while as I have always been quite light for the -63kg category. I would always be trying to put on weight and would be much lighter at competition than my competitors.

“I am obviously quite tall for -57kg and probably the tallest in the weight category, which has been, and will be an advantage, should I stay at this weight rather than return to -63kg. That said, I am still not 100% sure about where I will choose to settle and this is a decision that I will need to make”.

In Prague Clark beat Loulietta Bouke of Greece, Dijana Moric of Serbia and Malgorzata Bieklak of Poland in her preliminary round all by ippon, but lost in the quarter final to Tina Trstenjak of Slovenia.

In the repechage the Brit again took her win against Viola Waechter of Germany by ippon, before defeating Giulia Quintavalle of Italy to clinch the bronze.

Afterwards she said, “I am delighted with the result. I feel very strong and have done every right so things are feeling good”.

Commenting on the next few months she said, “I will be fighting the English Open and at the moment aiming to be selected at -57kg for this year’s European Championships.”

The 2009 GB World Cup will take place on the 19th & 20th September and will be for both men and women. Tickets will go on sale to BJA members in April and the general public in May.