Two Silver Medals for GB Judo at Zagreb Grand Prix
GB Judo kicked off the start of the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Cycle in sparkling style with Rhys Thompson and Mike Fryer picking up Silver medals at the Zagreb Grand Prix this weekend.
The medals both marked maiden podium finishes at Grand Prix level for the fighters after excellent days on the mat.
Mike Fryer kicked the team off on Friday with a dazzling array of judo in the -66kg category as he demonstrated an array of throws to despatch opponents along the way. A drop knee Seio-nage was enough to clinch victory in the opening round against Spain’s Victor Garcia Osado – originally given as waza-ari before being upgraded to ippon.
He recorded an impressive victory over Cypriot Georgios Balarjishvili after just 16 seconds in the next round as he forced his opponent to submit to his juji-gatame, before a tough Quarter Final against Brazil’s Ronald Lima. A waza-ari score was the only difference between the two after regulation time with Fryer getting an early score on the board.
The Semi Final saw Fryer score with one of the most photogenic throws of the day against Azerbaijan’s Ruslan Pashayev. After finding himself a waza-ari score down and just 45 seconds left on the clock, Fryer shown immense strength to lift his opponent and throw for ippon to guarantee a first Grand Prix medal.
It wasn’t to be in the Final as Fryer succumbed to a Seio-nage defeat at the hands of Kazakhstan’s Zhanarys Rakhmetkali. It was an impressive breakout display for the British judoka with his performance on the day drawing high praise from the “Voice of Judo” Neil Adams MBE on the commentary.
Rhys Thompson displayed his versatility in his opening round of the -100kg competition as he scored two waza-aris with brilliant transition between two as he scored via Kata-Gurame before managing to flip his opponent over for the hold down to secure an early win.
France’s Francis Damier provided Thompson with a stern test in the Quarter Finals and with both fighters scoring with a waza-ari, Thompson was able to gain the upper hand in the exchange, hook his ankle around his opponent and force him to mat to register ippon via Ko-soto-gake.
He had to show great resilience against Hungary’s World No. 24 Zsombor Veg to secure his route into the Final after he found himself in Osae-Komi early on, only to break out before the Referee could register a ten count. Thompson would eventually have to come from behind against Veg with contest being decided in Golden Score – Kata-gurama accounting for the Hungarian on this occasion.
A single waza-ari was enough to prevent Thompson from getting his hands on the Gold medal as he was defeated in a hard-fought final against Ukraine’s Anton Savytskiy, but it was an excellent day from Thompson, and one that will give him great confidence for future Tour events.
