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By Jim van Wijk, Press
Association Sport
Euan Burton in no doubt
British judo fighters have the talent to deliver medals across
the weight divisions at London 2012.
The 31-year-old Edinburgh
judoka has himself been producing consistent results at the major
events on the International Judo Federation World Circuit, adding
bronze at the World Masters elite tournament in Baku to his third-place
finish at both the 2010 world and European championships.
By virtue of his performances,
Burton - currently ranked fourth in the world at the under-81kgs
division - has found himself being held up as Britain's stand-out
judo prospect for the Olympics, where the host nation have targeted
at least three medals.
However, the veteran
Scot, who fought at the Beijing Games, is confident other fighters
can also step up to the challenge when the eyes of the world will
be on east London in 18 months time.
"We have got some
really strong players at the top end of the sport,'' Burton said.
"While we just
do not have the numbers to give us strength in depth across the
sport, in some of the weight categories, we have fighters who
can be competitive at the very, very top level.
"Some of those
are players who are coming through, younger guys who have not
managed to produce yet but are capable of it, some of those are
who have produced before but not done it in the last few tournaments.
"We definitely
have the potential to get big results at almost every weight category.''
At the British Senior
Trials in Sheffield last weekend, Rochdale fighter Sophie Cox
and Wolverhampton's Craig Fallon, both former Olympians who have
returned to the sport after an extended break, each collected
top honours, while 2010 European bronze medalist Karina Bryant
also produced another impressive display.
"Craig made his
comeback at the weekend, and for me he is the player of our generation'',
said Burton of the 28-year-old former world and European gold
medalist who was bitterly disappointed after failing to medal
in Beijing.
"He is a phenomenal
athlete and I think if he has his fight head on and can keep it
on for the next 18 months, then he will be a massive threat in
London.
"Then you have
guys like Ashley McKenzie, who has just won gold at the European
under-23 championships, James Millar, one of my friends from Ratho,
who is in the same under-60kgs weight division, has started to
hit form again.
"In among the women,
we have fighters like Karina Bryant, Sarah Clark, with young players
coming through, Gemma Gibbons, Sally Conway, Sarah Adlington,
Kelly Edwards - Gemma Howell is one of the most physically phenomenal
athletes I have ever seen and has already proved she can be a
world beater with the calibre of fighter she has overcome in the
last nine months.
"If these guys
can all keep progressing like they have been, then I think the
future can be very big for us.''
Burton was mentored
by British Olympic Association's elite performance director Sir
Clive Woodward for the last Games, and remains determined to make
the most of another shot at standing top of the podium in London.
"In judo, consistency
is one of the most difficult things to come by, particularly in
the middleweights where there is such strength in depth,''
Burton said.
"To be on the podium
at the Masters against after a pretty good last 12 months cemented
the fact I am in and around the top places.
"The preparations
for this year are starting to build up now. I have an event in
four weeks time in Dusseldorf and there is a lot of hard work
to be done between now and then, but it is all going pretty well
at the moment.
"However, you can't
rest on your laurels - you have to keep putting the work in during
training and producing results in tournaments because everybody
else is aiming to do that as well.''
Burton added: ''The
buzz and the hype about 2012 is starting to build now.
"I am relaxed about
London, but also know there is going to be a massive amount of
pressure on as it will be a home Olympics Games, but that is something
which excites me a great deal.
"I have been on the podium but
never champion of Europe or the world, so they are goals ahead
of the Games - but obviously I would swap all of my other medals
for a gold from London.''
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