British Judo’s Olympic Squad competed on home soil for the first time at the Senior British Closed Championships on Sunday at EIS Sheffield.
In the -48kg category, Hayley Willis, 16, who captured the junior title on Saturday, stunned the talented field as she added the senior title to her ever-growing medal collection.
The Junior World bronze medallist, a member of the 27-strong Olympic Squad, is one of the most exciting judoka in the sport and has already started to make a name for herself on the senior stage.
Olympic Test event bronze medallist and Athens Olympian Sophie Cox topped the -52kg category while Connie Ramsey battled her way to -57kg gold.
Beijing Olympian and former European silver medallist Sarah Clark won the -63kg title as Sally Conway took the -70kg crown.
Welsh Judo’s Fiona Jones took the -78kg title as Sarah Adlington claimed +78kg gold.
Lesley Reid, 49, remarkably claimed +78kg bronze, repeating her 1987 result having left the British Visually Impaired Team due to new sight classification criteria introduced in 2011.
British Judo Performance Director Daniel Lascau said, “I’ve seen some very good judo and I’m happy because some of the Olympic Squad confirmed their places while others now know they need to work even harder.
“I’m very pleased with Hayley Willis because she confirmed her ability at this level after winning the junior title on Saturday and she’s a very good judoka.”
Lizzie Flint, Sportsister
The Women’s Sports Magazine
