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A team of eight experienced
British veterans travelled to Lignano in Italy for the seventh
European Veterans Championships and returned with three gold and
two bronze medals.
Over
700 competitors from 46 nations arrived for the Championships
held over three days from 12th -14th November 2009. The first
day saw the eldest age category fight, with the contests being
three minutes long without any golden score.
Stepping up to the mat
first was the current British Masters Champion and Worlds Master
in the U90kg, Terry Watt. He was quick to defeat the World silver
medallist from Spain with an ippon in his first fight and continued
with a second ippon against the Belgium Champion in his second.
Progressing to the final, Watt took the gold medal, beating the
Ukraine player with a clear referee’s decision on Hantei.
Stan Cantrill, another very experienced
fighter, took to the mat in the M3 U73kgs to lose by a yuko and
waza-ari throw in the first round. Motivated to win the remainder
of all his fights, Catrill beat the rest of his opponents by ippon
and clinched a worthy bronze medal.
Losing
out in a bronze medal fight and finishing in 7th place was Lee
Adams (M5 U81kg). This result adds to his bronze medal from the
2009 British Masters Championships and 7th place gained at this
year’s World Masters.
The second day saw the
judo up a pace with the youngest age group fighting with more
impressive ippons to show.
Current World Masters
gold medallist Mandy Humphreys (F3 U48kg) was forced to fight
a younger opponent in a ‘best of three fights’, as there were
no other fighters in her age group. Seeing off the challenge from
the younger opponent, Humphreys beat her twice by ippon, earning
her another gold title at European level.
Roy
Walker (M1 U73kg), current World Masters bronze medallist, won
his first fight but unfortunately did not manage to gain a place
at this event.
The third and final
day saw the strongest age group of fighters and once more stepped
up the level of judo being fought throughout the Championships.
Giving away a significant
amount of weight to the giants of the +100 men, weighing in at
just a few kilos over, was British Masters Champion Craig Curtis
(M3 +100kg). In his first fight Curtis managed to hold down the
huge French competitor for the ippon score and then armlocked
the Russian player in the semi-final. In the final he had a Russian
fighter who he dominated and then held down for the Ippon score
gaining him the European gold medal.
Looking like she had
never stepped off the mat and taking a bronze medal was former
British senior player Dawn Netherwood (F4 U70kg), who came out
of retirement for the first time in 20 years to fight in the Championships.
Kim
Tilley (F4 U63kg) was in the toughest female group of the tournament
and was giving away a significant amount of weight in her group.
But she managed to fight exceptionally well against the Italian’s,
German and Austrian fighters to get into the bronze fight but
unfortunately lost out for the bronze medal but gaining a commendable
5th place.
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