Over 400 junior Judoka descended on Sheffield today as the bid to become Junior British Champion began at the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield on Saturday 10 December.
All players had their eyes on the gold medal from the start and this produced judo of the highest quality. With some judoka having to navigate through up to four pool rounds to secure a spot on the podium, the heat was really on once the finals came around. Therefore it was a testament to their fitness and skill levels that the quality did not dip.
Notable victories included Acelya Toprak finishing the day unbeaten to claim the gold medal in the -57kg division, to make up for just missing out in 2015.
Dragon’s Judo Academy’s Daniel Rabbitt once again caught the eye. After winning -55kg gold in last week Cadet’s boys competition, he once again managed to reach the podium but could only manage silver as he was defeated by Joshua Giles in a high class final contest.
Other notable results include Olivia Piechota, who had opted to move up from -48kg, coming out on top in the -52kg category, narrowly pipping defending champion Chelsie Giles from Coventry to gold, after over three minutes of golden score.
This was not the only medal Coventry would receive in the evening however with Joshua Giles claiming gold at -55kg and Yasmin Javadian winning bronze in the -52kg female category.
There were no shocks in the -73kg bracket as top seeded Eric Ham from Glossop swept all before him winning each of his seven contests by ippon displaying a good range of tachiwaza and newaza.
Don’t forget you can download the full results from today’s competition here >>>>>>> 2016 Junior British Championships results
You can also hear from Eric and Olivia below, just after they picked up their gold medals:
Junior Male
| Weight | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Bronze |
| U55kg | Joshua Giles, Coventry | Daniel Rabbitt, Dragons Judo Academy | Ashton Whalley, Beach | Mohammead Alip, Ernest Bevin Phoenix |
| U60kg | Henry Wakes, Shadsworth/SKK | Leonardo de Moura Muniz, Tower Hamlets | Ottavio Razzino, Huddersfield | Scott Thomson, Danderhall/Destination Judo |
| U66kg | Neil MacDonald, JudoScotland | Alexander Short, Edinburgh | Kieron Smythe, Grimsby | Abdurrahman Chaatouf, Ernest Bevin Phoenix |
| U73kg | Eric Ham, Glossop | Joshua O’Connor, Gendros | Lachlan Moorhead, Sheffield | Joshua Awiti-Alcaraz, Enfield |
| U81kg | Harry Lovell-Hewitt, Stroud | James Hayes, Bradley Stoke | Edgar Polovinkins, Ernest Bevin Phoenix | Spencer Lambert, Huddersfield |
| U90kg | Del Imrie, Jidel 93 | James Reid, Murakwai | Tomas Luckus. Ernest Bevin Phoenix | Sebastian Potter, Whitburn |
| U100kg | Cailin Calder, Esprit | Alex Vasekin, Happidojo | Sam Campion, Swinton | Luke Thomas, The Mat Academy |
| O100kg | Wesley Greenidge, Enfield | Beau Farrance, Tonbridge | ||
Junior Female
| Female | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Bronze |
| U44kg | Amy Platten, Redbridge | Jamie-Leigh Whitaker, Glossop | ||
| U48kg | Sian Bobrowska, Hardy Spicer 83 | Fiona Todman, Destination Judo | Molly Harvey, Tonbridge | Rachel Towle, Clyde |
| U52kg | Olivia Piechota, JSC/Harris | Chelsie Giles, Coventry | Olivia Reid, Garioch | Yasmin Javadian, Coventry |
| U57kg | Acelya Toprak, Metro | Stephanie Walker, Bradley Stoke | Natasha Fraser, Gateshead | Sofijia Bojat, Ealing |
| U63kg | Lubjana Piovesana, Bishop Challoner | Lucy Day, Redbridge | Holly Jones, SKK | Lucy King, Budokwai |
| U70kg | Kelly Petersen-Pollard, Hardy Spicer 83 | Shelley Ludford, Osaka | Chloe Nunn, Bishop’s Stortford | Olivia Spellman, Pinewood |
| U78kg | Jade Warr, Pinewood | Emily Ritchie, Sportif | Jess Richardson, Mercia | Kirstie Strouts-McCallion, St Columbs Park |
| O78kg | Georgia Greenidge, Enfield | Amy Oram, Yate Star | Lucy Deeming, Wolverhampton | |
