Team Bath judoka Ben Fletcher can take a massive step closer to his dream Olympic debut this weekend when he represents Great Britain at the European Championships in Russia. Four-hundred precious Rio 2016 qualification points are up for grabs at the last major competition before this summer’s Games. Fletcher, who competes in the -100kg competition on Saturday, is currently just one position outside the automatic qualification places but still holds one of two European continental quota...
Judoka Prisca Awiti-Alcaraz, swimmer Anna Hopkin, badminton player Alex Lane and slider David Swift are the latest winners of the Team Bath athlete of the month awards. The awards, which are supported by REVO Eyewear and Ellis & Killpartrick, once again showcased the outstanding calibre of sporting talent at the University of Bath. Judoka Awiti-Alcaraz, a Sport Performance student supported by a King Scholarship, was one of two award winners for January after she claimed U21 -63kg gold at...
Team Bath judoka Ben Fletcher and Emmanuel Nartey can strengthen their claims for Rio 2016 Olympic Games selection when they compete in continental championships this month. Fletcher has been named in a 13-strong Great Britain team for this month’s European Judo Championships in Russia. It is the last major tournament before this summer’s Olympics, giving Fletcher – coached by Juergen Klinger at the Sports Training Village – a big chance to collect more priceless qualification points before the May...
Team Bath judoka Ben Fletcher recorded a second-successive seventh-placed finish when he competed at the Samsun Grand Prix in Turkey. The result gave the 24-year-old another 48 valuable points in his pursuit of Rio 2016 Olympic Games qualification, with just a handful of competitions remaining before the May 31 deadline. Fletcher, coached by Juergen Klinger at the University of Bath, saw his superior fitness come to the fore in his opening -100kg contest in Samsun as...
University of Bath student Gemma Howell won her first Grand Prix judo medal for two years after producing a string of excellent performances in Georgia. The Sport & Exercise Science student, competing in the -63kg weight division, beat judoka ranked 30, 20, eight and nine in the world on her way to a superb silver in the Tbilisi Grand Prix. “I’m really happy, this silver is the best senior medal I’ve won so far,” Howell...
Team Bath judoka Ben Fletcher and Emmanuel Nartey both took major steps on the road to the Rio 2016 Olympic Games as they won gold at the Casablanca African Open on Sunday. Gary Hall also claimed his second Continental Open medal of the year during an impressive weekend in Morocco. Victory in the -100kg weight division was the perfect way for Fletcher to celebrate his 24th birthday. “It was a good day’s judo – I’m not...
Team Bath judoka Jan Gosiewski and Gary Hall (pictured left) gained valuable Rio 2016 Olympic Games qualification points with fifth-placed finishes at last weekend’s Prague European Open. University of Bath PhD student Gosiewski’s strong run in the -73kg competition was only ended in the quarter-finals by a golden-score ippon from reigning Olympic champion Mansur Isaev of Russia. Gosiewski, who had beaten former European Championship medallist Hasan Vanlioglu of Turkey in the opening rounds, dropped into the...
The road to Rio will travel through the Czech Republic, Peru, Argentina, Georgia and Turkey for University of Bath judoka Jan Gosiewski over the next few weeks. So ahead of his final push for a dream Olympic place in Team GB, the 27-year-old has launched a crowd-funding campaign to help cover the costs of his extensive travels. The global nature of judo means that Gosiewski has to go around the world to take part in...
Six of the most talented young judoka in the South West last week spent time with Team Bath's high performance judo squad as part of the Advanced Apprenticeship in Sporting Excellence (AASE) programme. The year-long programme, run in conjunction with the British Judo Association (BJA), is designed to provide young athletes aged 16-18 with the opportunity to experience the lifestyle of performance athletes. At the same time they are helped towards earning UCAS-recognised sports qualifications which equate to two...
University of Bath students won a multitude of medals during a fantastic weekend of competition at the BUCS [British Universities & Colleges Sport] Nationals in Sheffield – the UK’s biggest multi-sport event. There were individual golds for Beth Close, Josh Olawore and Cameron Chalmers (athletics); Alex Lane (badminton); Chloe Robyns-Landricombe, Prisca Awiti-Alcarez and Jemima Duxberry (judo); Anna Hopkin and Matthew Johnson (swimming); and Vicky Shenton (trampolining). Holly Clemens, SU Sport Officer, said: “It makes me...
