Great Britain returned from the 2011 Miami World Cup with an astonishing three medals, two golds from Sarah Clark (-63kg) and Karina Bryant (+78kg) and one bronze won by Sarah Adlington (+78kg).
Britsh Judo’s Head Coach Patrick Roux was extremely satisfied to see the British results are on track ahead of the 2012 Olympic Games. He commented: “It is our core strategy to have 10-12 GB players connected to this standard before the preparations for the 2012 Olympics begin and we have 11 players who have won medals at the Olympic qualification events this season, so it is really good to see we are meeting the standard to reach our goals in 2012.”
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Sportsister meets Sarah Adlington
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Both Clark and Bryant did extraordinarily well considering their recent injuries. “I am really pleased to see Sarah Clark and Karina Bryant coming back to their best results after overcoming injuries, which is never an easy task.”
Clark won the first medal on day one of the competition showing “class and experience” in the field, says Kate Howey, who is currently British Judo’s lead Development Coach.
Clark beat Leilani Akiyama of the USA in the first round, gaining two yuko points which sealed the win with ippon.
Clark’s second fight was against World no.19, Mariana Silva of Brazil. And again she scored two yuko points before winning the fight by ippon.
In the semi final Clark fought Serverine Nebie of Faso Burkina. She won yet another fight and achieved two yuko points and won finally by ippon.
Clark was up against Yarden Gerbi of Israel in the final showdown who had beaten Clark in the 2011 European Championships earlier this year. Picking her moment carefully, Clark defeated the Israeli with a strangle hold, winning a well-deserved gold medal.
In conclusion, Clark said, “I am pleased with the result from today, it has given me the confidence back that I can perform at this level.
“My training has been picking up and it’s good to feel some things I have been working on are transferring into my fights.
“I am looking forward to the World Championships; it is a big one before the games in 2012, and psychologically I feel I am back on track.”
Karina Bryant made an impressive comeback after returning from a neck injury. She achieved a gold medal on the second day of competition.
In the semi-final, Bryant overcame Melissa Mojica of Puerto Rico with two waza-ari’s and a yuko.
During the final, Bryant faced Maria Suelem Altheman of Brazil, who is currently placed just above Bryant on the world ranking list in 20th place. After picking up a penalty point, Bryant managed to push for an ippon win in under a minute.
On her journey home Bryant said, “I am really pleased with the result; it was a much harder competition than I thought it was going to be. There were a lot of top players there so it was quite daunting, but I got stuck in there and it was a good test for me.
“I used this event to see where I am at with my injury and I feel I am ready to take the next step in my rehabilitation programme.
“It has been hard for the last six months doing rehab and it’s frustrating not being able to go to all the camps, and competitions, but I have to take it step buy step and keep on top of it now.”
However, in the +78kg category Sarah Adlington overcame some of the world’s top players including the current Grand Prix champion Tea Donguzashvili of Russia to earn her bronze medal.
The British coach commented, “With experienced players coming back and young players like Sarah Adlington also delivering medals at this level, it is a very good sign for the World Championships in August and 2012 Olympic Games to see young and experienced coming together.”
Ella Hood, Sportsister
The women’s sports magazine
