School Games One to Watch: Team Scotland
This year’s School Games National Finals is taking place at Loughborough University for the second year running, and will host some of Britain’s best new athletes. The event, replicating the Olympic experience, will help hundreds of young people on their sporting journeys.
One of the sports in the School Games is judo, and it looks like the Scotland squad are as strong as ever this summer, with three boys in particular ready to grab the gold.
Artur Patemian is part of ProJudo, Scotland, and will be 15 when this year’s School Games kicks off. But what he lacks in age, he definitely makes up for in skill.
Artur has been gaining glory since 2014, when he won gold in the u15 British Championships, then staying on the podium in 2015 when he claimed bronze.
Consistently exceeding his own age group, he became British Cadet Champion in 2016. He placed 3rd in the 2017 Matsumae Cup Vejle in the u21 and u18 categories, as well as 3rd in the 2017 Sportif International.
Speaking of his excitement ahead of the competition this summer, Artur said “I can’t imagine my life without judo!”
Having already taken part in last year’s School Games and grabbing a gold in the over 50kg category, we are certain that Artur is going to make a big impression this summer.
Joining Artur in the 2017 squad is Ryan Thomson, 17, who is part of Sportif Judo.
Thomson has unstoppably won the Grand Prix for the last three years in Scotland, and even represented Scotland in the Team Championships, where they won gold.
Talking about his judo successes, he said “At the present time, I am 6th in GB on Ippon league. I’m in the top three in Scotland, which is one of my greatest achievements, but I’m also extremely proud of competing in the School Games back in 2015.”
Like Artur, Ryan hit the podium when he last competed at the Games two years ago, bagging a silver for the under 50kg competition. It looks like his eyes are firmly set on the top spot this time though, as he has already won gold in the Matsumae Cup Vejle earlier this year.
Another Ryan who is set to make a big impact this year is Ryan Quigley, of Hibari Kan club. At 16 years old, Quigley has accumulated a whole host of titles under his belt, being a five time Scottish and three times British Age-Group Champion.
His successes include 2013 British Champion, gold at the 2015 Venray International, gold at the 2017 Luxemburg International and yet another gold at the 2017 Northern Ireland open.
Telling us of his motivation in the sport, Ryan said “Ilias Iliadis winning Olympics at age only 17 was the biggest inspiration”. His own aspirations were raised by it when he met the Olympic champion himself.
Those big dreams seems to be paying off though, as Quigley was selected to compete for the 2017 Commonwealth Youth Games in the Bahamas, becoming one of the first judoka’s involved in the competition as Judo makes its debut there. From his growing international experience, it’s clear that Quigley is one to watch!
