Gold for Megan Fletcher and bronze for Jan Gosiewski as judoka impress in Australia
Megan Fletcher struck gold and there was a bronze medal for Jan Gosiewski as Team Bath judoka enjoyed success at the Oceania Open in Woolongong, Australia.
Commonwealth champion Fletcher won all of her fights by ippon to claim the women’s under-70kg title and 100 valuable ranking points on the road to the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
After defeating home favourite Naomi De Bruine in the preliminary round, Fletcher beat Lynn Mossong of Luxembourg in the semi-finals before taking gold at the expense of Kathleen Sell of the United States.
Really pleased with how I fought today in the Aussie Continental Open! Thank u for all the support #Gold #100Points pic.twitter.com/edJzmlstf6
— Megan Fletcher (@Megan_Fletcher1) November 14, 2015
Gosiewski, a Biomechanics PhD student at the University of Bath, produced his best result of the year as he won bronze in the men’s under-73kg weight division. The Trendell Sports Scholar and Dual Career athlete recorded victories by ippon over New Zealand’s Elliot Connolly and Jake Bansted of Australia to reach the semi-finals. He narrowly lost out in a hard-fought contest against eventual champion Marco Maddaloni of Italy but responded well by defeating fellow Brit Patrick Dawson to secure a podium place.
Bronze. Not the result I wanted, but fought well. Training and financial investments paying off. #selffunding #rio pic.twitter.com/91XijwsWJ0 — Jan Gosiewski (@janski73) November 13, 2015
Ben Fletcher, Megan’s brother and gold-medallist at the previous week’s African Open Championships in Mauritius, suffered a frustrating first-round exit to Mongolia’s Bat-Erdene Davaadorj in the under-100kg category.
Business Management graduate Tom Reed, who will undergo an elbow operation on his return to the UK, had to withdraw from the tournament at the last minute due to illness.
Reed will return to action at the Qingdao Grand Prix, taking place in China from November 20-22. Gosiewski and Megan Fletcher will also be competing.
