Third Grand Prix medal of the year as Team Bath judoka Megan Fletcher continues preparations for World Championships

08 July 2019

Team Bath Judo’s Megan Fletcher won her third Grand Prix medal of 2019 when she bagged bronze in Montreal, Canada.

Fletcher, fresh from her seventh-placed finish while representing Ireland at the 2019 European Games in Minsk, began her women’s -70kg campaign by beating home judoka Hanako Kuno in her opening bout.

A narrow defeat to Germany’s Giovanna Scoccimarro, the eventual champion, in the quarter-finals meant Fletcher went into the repechage, where she overcame Paraguay’s Maria Perez to secure a shot at a podium place.

Opponent Gabriella Willems of Belgium thought she had won the bronze medal by Ippon but, after officials reviewed the video, she was disqualified for applying the armlock on the wrist rather than Fletcher’s elbow.

 

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It was not the way I would want to win the bronze medal fight, but I came away with a Grand Prix Bronze here in Montreal. There are always things to learn from and to work on but there were definitely positives to take away from today too! Thank you @sportireland and @irish_judo for this incredible opportunity and all the amazing people supporting me on this rollercoaster journey! ☘️ Tomorrow is a new day with the same focus. Next target 🔜 🇭🇷

A post shared by Megan Fletcher (@megs_fletcher1989) on Jul 6, 2019 at 9:41pm PDT

The result consolidates Fletcher’s ranking at number 20 in the world and secures more valuable points towards her goal of Tokyo 2020 Olympic qualification.

Next up for Fletcher, who is coached by Juergen Kilnger at the University of Bath Sports Training Village, is the Zagreb Grand Prix in Croatia as she builds towards the World Championships in Tokyo next month.

Click here to find out more about judo at the University of Bath.