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On
day two of the British Open Championships, held at K2 Crawley
Leisure Centre on the 15th May, Britain took two bronze medals,
adding to the seven medals won the day before.
It
was Chris Sherrington in the +100kg weight category who won the
first bronze medal for GB.
The
26-year-old won his first two preliminary fights by ippon against
Tobias Pahnke of Germany and John Ellis of Great Britain. He then
faced Jerome Wustner of France in the semi-final. The fight went
to full time and the Brit lost by a yuko and waza-ari.
Sherrington,
who also won a bronze medal at the European Cup in Sarajevo this
year, progressed to the bronze medal final against fellow Brit
fought Zviad Tsiklauri. The fight was close with both players
reaching the end of the five minutes on equal scores. Going into
golden score, Sherrington cranked it up a notch and won the fight
to take the bronze medal.
After
stepping off the rostrum, Sherrington said, “Being a Royal Marine,
I am always striving for the best, so I am disappointed with a
bronze medal.
“I
will now take a good look at my diet and training to improve and
win gold.”
Siobhan
O’Neill took the second medal for GB in the -52kg weight category,
winning her final in just 15 seconds with an explosive ippon throw
against Miranda Wolfslag of the Netherlands.
After
stepping off the rostrum, O’Neill said, “I am really pleased with
my bronze medal, my first at these Championships.
“It
is a big accomplishment and I was surprised, but I’m pleased I
won it so quickly by ippon.”
O’Neill
made her mark in the preliminary rounds, winning against Helena
Gil Moreno of Spain in the first round and 2009 GB World Cup gold
medallist Kimberley Renicks of Britain in the second round. O’Neill
was then caught by Miriam Polak of the Netherlands by ippon in
the semi-final, placing her in the fight for bronze.
Also
reaching bronze medal finals was Connie Ramsay (-57kg), Andrew
Burns (-90kg), Michael Horley (-90kg) and James Austin (-100kg),
who all settled for fifth places.
After
losing her first fight to Shareen Richardson of the Netherlands,
Ramsay was brought back into the repechage when the Dutch player
reached the semi-final. Winning her next three fights, the Brit
fought Johanna Muller of Germany in the bronze final, but was
caught for ippon.
The
bronze medal final between Burns and Arnal Mengod of Spain was
tense. After a full five minutes, neither player had scored, leaving
the fight to be decided in golden score. It was the Spaniard who
came out on top, throwing Burns for ippon. The Brit had won his
three preliminary fights, but lost the semi-final to Alberto Arnal
Mengod of Spain earlier on in the day.
Michael
Horley fought in the second -90kg bronze medal final, and was
caught by Remco Van Den Brink of the Netherlands by ippon. Horley
had earlier won his first preliminary fight against Carlos Anieros
Sanchez of Spain, but then lost to team mate Andrew Burns in the
second. He then beat Beijing Paralympic bronze medallist Sam Ingram
in the repechage.
James
Austin won his first two preliminary fights against Stefan Krause
of Germany and Patrik Moser of Switzerland. The Brit then had
an impressive win against 2005 European Champion Christophe Humbert
of France, winning by ippon. Austin then lost his semi-final fight
to Danny Meeuwsen of the Netherlands, placing him in the bronze
medal fight.
The
bronze medal final was dominated by the Israeli, Or Sasson. The
clock went to full time and Sasson’s yuko and waza-ari points
took the bronze medal, leaving Austin to settle with fifth place.
Great
Britain finished in third place overall, with the Netherlands
taking the top spot, followed by France.
Full results can be found
here.
Media Contact:
Nicola Turner
PR Officer
British Judo Association
(t) 01509 631692/07854
244343
nicola.turner@britishjudo.org.uk
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