GB Judo in the medals again at the Prague European Open
GB Judo continued their recent impressive form on the international stage with a further three medals at this weekend’s European Open in Prague.
Josie Steele kicked the team off in style in the -63kg competition with a second medal since moving up from the -57kg category. Adding to her Riga European Cup Bronze medal from March this year, she swept aside a number of higher ranked opponents courtesy of ippon victories – one of which was an epic nine-minute contest in the Round of 16 – to work her way into a Semi Final against France’s Gaetane Deberdt.
Steele couldn’t get to grips with the French fighter, eventually being awarded her third shido of the competition to drop her into the Repechage. This did not seem to phase the young Scottish judoka however, and she came out for her Bronze medal contest fired up. It was a tough contest to call with both fighters having picked up shidos as it progressed into Golden Score, but Steele dug deep and forced Brigitta Varga to pick up a third shido and hand the medal to the delighted Brit.
Rhys Thompson continued his fine recent form with another medal to add to his growing collection. Following up on his maiden Grand Prix Silver medal two weeks ago, he once again found himself on the -100kg podium, this time with a Bronze medal.
It was a gruelling morning on the mat for Thompson with several contest lasting the duration. He was able to demonstrate the breadth of his judo throughout however, with one of the highlights coming in the Repechage against home favourite Martin Bezdek. With both fighters on two shidos, Thompson worked Bezdek into the middle of the mat before showing lighting speed to register ippon courtesy of a drop knee Seio-nage to pave the way into the medal contest.
Once again, it was a gritty performance from the Brit that allowed him to get his hands on a medal for the second time this month, with a single waza-ari separating him and Slovakia’s Benjamin Matseje.
Tatum Keen claimed her maiden European Open medal as the Bradley Stoke judoka continues to make her mark on the European and World circuit.
Her opening round victory against Austria’s Lisa Dengg brought cheers from Pete Douglas in her Coaches Chair as two waza-aris was enough to secure passage into the later rounds. Victory within two minutes in the Quarter Final guaranteed her a shot at a medal, but Keen was determined to compete for Gold. Relentless pressure from the Brit in the Semi Finals saw her force France’s Lea Beres to pick up three Shidos in a contest that went all the way into Golden Score after the fighters couldn’t be separated.
The Gold medal fight looked to be following a similar pattern to the Semi Final. With just three seconds remaining on the clock, her French opponent managed to register waza-ari that left Keen with little time remaining to force additional time.
