Natalie Powell took a bronze medal in an action packed day in Mexico today for the final day of the IJF World Judo Masters, while Gemma Gibbons claimed a 5th place.

Powell and Gibbons both started the day well. Powell took down Yalennis Castillo of Cuba with a well executed harai-goshi for ippon. Meanwhile, Gibbons dominated Spanish judoka Laia Talarn who in a scoreless contest was eventually disqualified after reaching four shidos.

With both British judoka drawn in the same pool, an all British quarter-final was to ensue. Both players fought hard in a high energy contest, but it was Powell who took the win, throwing Gibbons for yuko before getting the hold down and taking the contest by ippon.

Powell moved into the semi-finals where she faced reigning Olympic champion, Kayla Harrison. After a minute of even judo, Harrison launched an attack and threw Powell for ippon. Meanwhile, Gibbons had the British fans on the edge of their seat in the repechage final against Italian, Assunta Galeone. Going a yuko down before the Italian judoka racked up three shidos, it wasn’t until the final 30 seconds of the contest that Gibbons threw for waza-ari and took the victory.

The British -78kg pair both had medal chances in bronze medal contests, with Powell facing Zhehui Zhang and Gibbons facing Guusje Steenhuis (NED).

Gibbons was first to fight, facing the Dutch opponent who she had beaten for bronze at the Jeju Grand Prix at their last encounter in November 2015. It wasn’t to be for Gibbons, who lost out to the world number three by a single yuko and was forced to settle for a 5th place.

Powell faced China’s Zhehui Zhang in the second -78kg bronze medal contest. Powell started positive and after numerous attacks, Zhang couldn’t hold on any longer and was thrown for a second waza-ari, which saw Powell take the spot on the podium.

Speaking on her performance, Powell said: “It’s really good to finish the qualification on a high note. It’s been a tough few years and after winning the European bronze it was hard to get myself up again for another big tournament. Winning the bronze means that the points I have gained will put into 7th seed for the Olympic Games if selected”

Elite Performance Coach, Jean-Paul Bell added: “As expected the last event of the qualification period was tough and there were some good wins and strong performances from the team.”

 

Giles on form in Austria

Junior and Cadet British judoka were in action at the Junior European Cup in Austria and Cadet European Cup in Portugal.

Chelise Giles (-52kg) was in exceptional form, winning three of her four contests by ippon in less than a minute each. Giles added to Piovesana’s earlier gold medal, and became the second British female to stand on top of the podium in Austria this weekend.

There was also medal action for the Brits in Portugal, with Kelly Petersen Pollard (-70kg) taking bronze.

Jamal Petgrave (-90kg) finished the weekend a ninth place, while in Portugal, Amy Oram (+70kg) claimed a fifth place and Louis Delsol (-73kg) finished with a ninth.