Another weekend is upon and once again GB Judo will be going for gold at the Madrid European Open and Leibnitz Junior European Cup on Saturday 2 and Sunday 3 June.
Madrid European Open, Madrid, Spain
15 GB judoka will be in action in the Spanish capital for the second event of Olympic qualification.
At +78kg Sarah Adlington fights for the first time since the Dusseldorf Grand Slam in February and goes in as the second seed among the heavyweights.
-57kg duo Jodie Caller and Lele Nairne will be worth keeping an eye on. Caller returned from long term injury at the start of 2018, winning a couple of medals, most recently at the International Kaizen Pey-Echt in Netherlands.
Nairne meanwhile won her first senior international medal last month at the Orenburg Senior European Cup in Russia.
James Hayes (-81kg), helped GB Judo to Men’s Team bronze at the Junior European Championships last year and goes in off the back of winning gold at the English Open last month.
The rest of the team sees a mix of experienced fighters such as Glasgow 2014 gold medallist Danny Williams (-73kg) and younger judoka looking to gain experience on the international stages like Lanina Solley (-52kg) and Cailin Calder (-100kg).
You can find the full British team linked below:
https://judobase.ijf.org/#/competition/profile/1582/countries/0
Day One (Saturday 2 June) – Women: -48 kg / -52 kg / -57 kg / -63 kg Men: -60kg / -66 kg / -73 kg
Day Two (Sunday 3 June) – Women: -70 kg / -78 kg / +78 kg Men: -81kg / -90 kg / -100 kg / +100 kg
Competition starts at 0900 UK time on each day with a live stream via ippon.org. Follow @BritishJudo on Twitter for end of day medal updates.
Leibnitz Junior European Cup, Leibnitz, Austria
An eleven strong GB Judo Junior team will be taking to the mat at one of the toughest events on the IJF Junior World Tour this weekend.
Junior European Championship silver medallist Acelya Toprak (-57kg) fights in just her second Junior European Cup of the year. The Metro judoka will be keen to put the experienced gained at the European Championships in Tel Aviv to good use.
At -78kg Shelley Ludford has enjoyed a strong start to 2018 with a gold at the Kaunas Junior European Cup last month her latest medal success.
Among the men, Wesley Greenidge (+100kg) goes in off the back of a strong week of training in Papendal and he will want to add a second Junior European Cup medal of the year to his collection.
Molly Harvey (-52kg) and Olivia Spellman (-63kg) will also be looking to win a second Junior European medal of 2018 when they step on the mat in Austria.
You can find the full British team linked below:
https://judobase.ijf.org/#/competition/profile/1644/countries
Day One (Saturday 2 June) – Women: -63, -70, -78, +78 kg; Men: -55, -60, -66, -73 kg
Day Two (Sunday 3 June) – Women: -44, -48, -52, -57 kg; Men: -81, -90, -100, +100 kg
Competition starts at 0900 UK time on each day with a live stream via ippon.org. Follow @BritishJudo on Twitter for end of day medal updates.
