The British Judo Association would like to thank everybody involved with the performance of the Team GB judo squad at the London 2012 Olympic Games.

The whole of British Judo is delighted and extremely proud of the team’s efforts in London, winning Great Britain’s first judo medal in 12 years and enjoying the most successful Olympics since Barcelona in 1992.

The entire team did a magnificent job, giving their all and doing the association and the entire nation proud. The performance was a fantastic achievement and we would like to thank the whole of the squad and supporting staff for their courage, skill, determination and pure hard work in achieving this success.

Our special congratulations go out to our two new Olympic Medal winners – Gemma Gibbons, who won a silver medal despite only stepping up to the weight category a few months prior to the games and Karina Bryant whose bronze medal completes an amazing collection of international medals at her fourth Olympic games.

Every athlete did Great Britain proud, giving their all against world-class opposition with many narrowly losing out to the eventual Olympic champion, silver or bronze medallist.

We would also like to recognise the many people who have contributed to the success including the coaches and clubs who supported the athletes on their journey to the games, the performance coaches, sports science and support staff who worked with the squad throughout the four-year cycle and ensured the athletes reached the games in peak condition, the volunteers who give their precious time to the sport and the entire staff and membership of the organisation for their huge support – without all of these people, these medals would not have been possible.

This success marks the start of new era for British Judo and we must all commit to continue to progress and ensure that we win multiple medals at all future world events. As with each four-year cycle, we will undertake a comprehensive independent review, taking into account the views and experiences of a range of key stakeholders and will ensure the best possible environment for success is in place for Rio 2016 and beyond.

The increased interest in the sport has been unprecedented and provides us with a unique opportunity to grow judo in the UK. Almost five million people watched Thursday’s final and the entire competition provided an excellent showcase for the sport. There has already been a huge increase in the number of website visitors searching for clubs in their area and we’ve had feedback from a number of individuals inspired to either take up the sport or return to the mat.

We must all enjoy the success we have achieved at the games, but more importantly we must get behind the programme to ensure we build on this success and achieve even more in the future.

Scott McCarthy
CEO
British Judo Association