Hometown Glory: Gold Rush continues for Warwick Judo

The University of Warwick Judo Club added to their healthy pile of medals over the course of the academic year with a stellar showing on home soil. They claimed a number of successes at the esteemed Warwick Competition held on Saturday 23rd January.

The tournament itself ran smoothly after months of preparation by the club’s Vice President Andy Loo. The day saw Warwick sports centre host 180 competitors from 11 universities.

The day saw Warwick sports centre host 180 competitors from 11 universities. 

“Organising the competition meant a lot of hard work but it was really rewarding to see everything unfold”, said Loo. “The competition day itself was challenging, but a great experience overall.”

The day opened in the morning with the men’s individual novice category. A number of Warwick beginners from last term’s Saturday course locked horns with other university novices for their chance to medal in the very first action of the day.

Rising to the occasion superbly, both Ben Heenan and Yerassyl Akhmer managed to bag bronze in their respective weight categories. The novice individuals were then followed by the Men’s intermediate and advanced team competitions, which also overlapped with the Women’s individuals. The intermediate men won a respectable bronze, while the first of the Warwick advanced team followed suit despite a devastating knee injury suffered by Harvey Lewis.

The Women’s competition saw an extremely high level of judo exhibited by the Warwick team.

Meanwhile, the Women’s competition saw an extremely high level of judo exhibited by the Warwick team. Louisa Lai and Minwei Huang both won gold after dominating their respective weight categories. Beginner Wendy Rozmankova and veteran Kezia Mitchinson both grapped respectable silvers in the mid-weight categories, while team captain Kathryn Barnes and Heather Curtis scored two bronze medals to cap off a wonderful day of fighting.

Speaking soon after the competition, women’s coach Sophie Cox had this to say: “The competition was a testament to what judo is all about; we came together as a team to run the biggest and most successful event on the university judo calendar. We dug deep on the mat, and win or lose we kept smiling and learnt from our opponents! Thanks also to the Warwick Sport team who helped facilitate the event.”