Team Bath Judo Club’s Megan Fletcher collected more valuable Rio 2016 Olympic Games qualification points as she finished seventh at the Qingdao Grand Prix in China. After her gold-medal success in Australia the previous week, Fletcher got off to a confident start in the U70kg weight division as she beat Georgia’s Esther Stam by yuko. However, a single penalty against Fletcher proved decisive in a tight quarter-final as she was edged out by South Korea’s...
Talented student athletes from an array of different sports have been awarded University of Bath sporting scholarships. Among the 2015 scholars are medallists at British and World Championships, an England Hockey Cup winner and a rugby player who competed in this year’s Six Nations. University of Bath students with the potential to succeed both academically and in their chosen sport can apply for the scholarships, which are awarded each year. They are supported by alumni and...
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...
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...
Team Bath head judo coach Juergen Klinger has described his "delight" at being recognised as an integrated judo coach in the UK after receiving a 7. Dan rank. German Klinger has been at the University of Bath since 2006 and received the award at the British Judo Open last weekend. Speaking of the award, Klinger said: "I'm delighted to receive the 7. Dan. It is a rank not awarded by assessment so you must be...
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...
Juergen Klinger, the high performance judo coach at the University of Bath, has paid tribute to predecessor Roy Inman OBE following his passing. Roy, pictured, was the driving force behind the establishment of the high performance judo programme at the University of Bath and became its first technical director. He was personal coach to Kate Howey MBE when she won silver at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games and also delivered on the University’s sport and...
Team Bath Judo Club’s Megan Fletcher says she is going into the European Games full of confidence after her gold-medal triumph at the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games. Fletcher is joined in Baku, Azerbaijan by brother Ben and Gemma Howell, who are all coached by Juergen Klinger at the University of Bath. And she is targeting another international medal as she pursues her ultimate ambition of qualifying for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. “If I can...
Team Bath Judo Club trio Ben Fletcher, Megan Fletcher and Gemma Howell have been named in a 153-strong Team GB squad for this summer’s inaugural European Games in Baku, Azerbaijan. Team GB will compete across 13 sports and 19 disciplines at Baku 2015 as 50 European nations come together for the continent’s first-ever major multi-sport event from June 12-28. The competition has even more significance for Team Bath’s judoka as it will also double as...