British Judo have today (10^th August 2015) announced a team of nine players for the World Judo Championships, held in Astana, Kazakhstan 24-29 August.  

The British entry was officially released today through video streaming app Periscope, where the selected players took part in a live question and answer session with fans.

Heading to Kazakhstan to represent Great Britain at the final World Championships before the Rio 2016 Olympic Games will be  Kelly Edwards (-52kg), Nekoda Davis (-57kg), Alice Schlesinger (-63kg), Sally Conway (-70kg), Natalie Powell (-78kg), London 2012 Olympic silver medallist Gemma Gibbons (-78kg), Ashley McKenzie (-60kg), Colin Oates (-66kg) and Ben Fletcher (-100kg).

Speaking ahead of the Championships, Gemma Gibbons said: “The World Championship is one of the highest levels you can perform at in judo, so I’m really excited to be going to Astana. I’ve never been a medallist at the World’s before so that’s my goal going in to the Championship.”

Accompanying the team will be Elite Performance Coaches, Kate Howey MBE and Jean-Paul Bell.

Kate Howey said: “The World Championships will be a big test for a lot of our players as we look towards Rio next year. Everyone has been training really hard and are looking forward to taking on the best players in the world”.

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