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Euan Burton capped a
memorable year by taking bronze at the 2010 Tokyo Grand Slam on
Sunday.
The 31-year-old made
history at the high-profile Grand Slam in 2009 when he became
the first non-Asian judoka to win a gold medal at the event.
The world number four,
who captured bronze medals at the European and World Championships
this year, started his 2010 campaign in Tokyo against Israel’s
Yoel Razvozov.
Razvozov, a two-time
European Championship medallist, was subdued by a waza-ari after
both men had picked up a penalty.
Portugal’s multiple-time
World Cup medallist Diogo Lima suffered the same fate as Burton
progressed by way of a yuko score.
Next up was France’s
national champion Antoine Jeanin who was dispatched by a waza-ari
to book a semi-final meeting against Japan’s Masahiro Takamatsu.
In a very even contest
between two 2010 World Championship bronze medallists the home
fighter rallied late on to register a yuko with a minute left
on the clock.
Elsewhere Karina Bryant,
Gemma Gibbons and Gemma Howell all picked up fifth-places.
Karina and Gemma Gibbons
eventually come undone against Japanese opposition – as the hosts
claimed 26 out of 42 medals available – while Gemma Howell lost
a tense battle to eventual bronze medallist Kifayat Gasimova of
Azerbaijan.
James Austin, Winston
Gordon, Colin Oates, Ashley McKenzie, Sally Conway, Sophie Cox
and Faith Pitman were also in action for Britain in Tokyo.
The event concluded
the Asian leg of the IJF world circuit which saw Gemma Gibbons
and Sarah Adlington take bronze at the Korea Grand Prix last week
while Gemma Howell picked up a silver medal.
British Judo Head Coach
Patrick Roux said: “The highlight of Euan is his consistency;
we’re all very impressed with him.
“He’s delivering at major
events such as the World Championships, European Championships
and Grand Slams. Also important is the style of his performances
and he’s continuing to improve in that respect. Euan has a good
spirit and a fantastic attitude.
“Gemma Howell and Gemma
Gibbons showed that they have connected at this level and are
showing consistency. Gemma Howell took bronze at the u23 European
Championships, silver in Korea and fifth-place on Sunday and she
was unlucky not to be awarded the win against her final opponent
as she was doing all the attacking.
“Gemma Gibbons fought well
and she’s making good progress while Karina also showed improvement.
“It’s a very important
time for us now as we enter the next phase of the Olympic program
and we focus on intensification with more competitions.”
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