Seven of our elite athletes head to Tyumen, Russia, to gain important Rio 2016 qualification points this weekend. The Russian Grand Slam brings qualifying opportunities to over 300 athletes across 55 countries. 

Ashley MCKENZIE and Nekoda DAVIS will have the opportunity to continue their good form following last weekend’s British Open as they prepare to compete in the Tyumen Athletic Center on the first day of the event. McKenzie will await the outcome of the contest between Robert MSHVIDOBADZE (RUS) and Nuno CARVALHO (POR) to see who he will face in the second round of the -60kg category. Meantime, Davis will also be waiting to see whether she will come up against Jan-Di KIM (KOR) or Tatiana KAZENYUK (RUS) in the -57kg category. 

Colin OATES will also line up on day one of the competition. Oates has who won three Grand Slam medals in his career so far, including a silver at the Russian Grand Slam in 2013. Oates is number one seed in the -66kg which allows him to rest during the first round. He will await the outcome of the contest between Diogo CESAR (POR) or Boldbaatar CHIMED-YONDON (MGL) to see who he will meet in his first contest. 

Both Gemma HOWELL and Alice SCHLESINGER will also be in action on day one of the competition. They will both be aiming to achieve results to climb the World rankings by the end of tomorrow. Howell will take on Margarita GURTSIEVA (RUS) in the first round, whilst Schlesinger will enter the arena seeded eighth, which allows her to have a bye in the first round. She will have to prepare to overcome the winner of Hee Ju HAN (KOR) vs Valentina KOSTENKO (RUS) in the second round. 

Sunday will see action from Natalie POWELL (-78kg) and Sarah ADLINGTON (+78kg) as they look to take a spot on the podium.

Preliminary rounds begin from 06:00 BST. Follow all the action via ippon.tv and keep up to date via our twitter and facebook with @BritishJudo