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...
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...
Team Bath Judo Club’s Ben Fletcher gained more valuable qualification points on the road to the Rio 2016 Olympic Games as he struck gold at the African Open Championships in Mauritius. The 23-year-old, coached by Juergen Klinger at the University of Bath, dominated all of his fights in the under-100kg weight division to claim the third international title of his career and his second in 2015, following his success in Tunis in January. After overcoming...
There were two silvers and a bronze medal for Team Bath’s elite judoka to celebrate when the European Open took place in Scotland and Portugal at the weekend. Tom Reed reached the under-81kg final at the men’s event in Glasgow, while Ben Fletcher strengthened his grip on a Rio 2016 Olympic Games qualification place with bronze in the under-100kg division. And over at the women’s event in Lisbon, Megan Fletcher won a silver medal in...
It is exactly 300 days until the Rio 2016 Olympic Games get under way – and Team Bath’s elite judoka face a crucial competition as they bid to reach Brazil. Valuable qualification points for the Games are up for grabs at the European Judo Open, which takes place this weekend in Glasgow for men and Lisbon for women. Among those heading to Scotland is Ben Fletcher, pictured, who currently meets the qualification criteria for Rio...
Team Bath Judo's Ben Fletcher built on his first-ever Grand Prix medal in July by reaching the last-16 at the 2015 World Judo Championships in Astana, Kazakhstan. Fletcher's progress, which was ended by eventual-finalist German Frey Karl-Richard, meant he has now earned enough qualification points to book a spot in the 'green zone' for Olympic qualifying - occupied by athletes who are in a direct qualification position. 23-year-old Fletcher, who trains under Juergen Klinger at...
There was an all Team Bath final at the 2015 British Judo Open, which took place in the SSE Arena, Wembley over the weekend. Gemma Howell and Megan Fletcher usually fight in different weight categories but both were entered in the -70kg competition this time. And both progressed to the final, where they produced – in the words of coach Juergen Klinger – “a fantastic fight, very open and very fast”. It went all the...
Team Bath Judo Club’s Ben Fletcher said he “couldn’t be happier” after winning his first-ever Grand Prix medal in Mongolia. Fletcher, coached by Juergen Klinger at the Sports Training Village, also secured 120 Olympic qualification points to boost his hopes of reaching Rio 2016. “My first-ever Grand Prix medal – a really good day and performance,” he tweeted. “Couldn’t be happier.” And there was a gold medal for University of Bath graduate Gemma Gibbons who...
Team Bath Judo Club coach Juergen Klinger rued the “tactical mistakes” which contributed to early exits for Megan Fletcher, Ben Fletcher and Gemma Howell at the European Games in Baku, Azerbaijan. All three were in good positions in the fights they lost but went on to endure frustrating defeats. Commonwealth champion Megan Fletcher was up against Poland's Katarzyna Klys in their -70kg round-of-32 contest but lost out following a pair of yukos. “Megan got thrown...
