Four Team Bath judoka were crowned as British Champions and there were six medals in total as a memorable 2021 concluded with a fantastic weekend of Senior and U21 competition at the EIS Sheffield.
There was more success at the National Cyprus Judo Championships in Nicosia too as Sport & Exercise Science George Kroussaniotakis won gold in the -100kg competition.
Gregg Varey, captain of the Team Bath High Performance Judo Squad, continued his proud record of winning a medal at every British Championship he has contested since the age of 11 as he secured the senior -66kg title with victory over Charlie Young in the final.
Celebrating her first senior British title is Chloe Robyns-Landricombe, a University of Bath Sports Performance graduate, who overcame fellow Team Bath judoka Sidney Tancock on her way to the -52kg final where she defeated Kirsty Marsh to clinch the gold medal.
Rhys Thompson produced a series of strong performances to win his second senior British Championship in the -100kg category, his overall victory sealed by beating Max Gregory in the gold-medal match.
There was also a podium place for Mathematics student Louis Delsol, supported by the Team Bath Dual Career programme, who battled his way through five repechage contests to win bronze in the -81kg division.
Also placing in the top eight in their events were Roxy Proctor (-70kg 5th), Harry Stone (-81kg 5th), Alex Jenkins (+100kg 5th), Tancock (-52kg 7th) and James Reseigh (-73kg 7th).
Saturday’s U21 British Championships saw Physics student Jenkins, representing Hertfordshire-based Rush Judo, win all four of his round-robin pool matches to come out on top in the +100kg category and take gold.
There was also a silver in the -70kg competition for Sports Performance student Proctor, who fought well to reach the final where she was edged out after a six-minute battle by Simone Cross.
The national championship results cap an excellent year for Team Bath Judo, which included three judoka – Prisca Awiti-Alcaraz, Ben Fletcher and Megan Fletcher – competing at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
Team Bath Judo coach Adam Hall said: “What a fantastic way to close the year. The results at the British Championships pay testament to the hard work the whole team have put in both on and off the mat. I’d like to congratulate the athletes and thank everybody involved.”
Visit teambath.com/judo to find out more about the judo programme at the University of Bath.
Thanks to the Team Bath Press Office at Matchtight
