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Sarah Clark was the
outstanding British performer at the 2009 European Judo Championships
in Tbilisi, Georgia, on the weekend of April 24-26.
Clark, who
this year dropped from the -63kgs weight category to -57kgs, was
the only British medallist, coming home with a well deserved silver
It is the third European
medal for double Olympian Clark who won bronze at the 2004 European
Championships and was European Champion in 2006 in the -63kg weight
category.
Her first contest pitted
her against the reigning -57kg Olympic Champion, Italy's Guila
Quintavalle. Despite not scoring against Quintavalle, Clark dominated
and won the contest 3-0 on a refereeing flag decision (known as
Hantei where referees and judges deciding the winner using a majority
decision – displayed by the lifting of a blue or white flag).
In the next round the Brit
overcame Viola Waechter (GER) with a Yuko in golden score.
Ioulietta Boukouvala of
Greece, who won the prestigious Paris Tournament this year, had
won both her contests in the preliminaries by Ippon and faced
Clark in the semi-finals.
Clark, again, controlled
the contest, outgripping the Greek, but again failed to throw
her opponent. Once again it went to flags and there was little
doubt over her victory as she took a unanimous decision.
Lying in wait for Clark
in the final was Telma Monteiro, Portugal's World Champion at
the lighter of -52kgs.
Monteiro started strongly,
attacking Clark with speed and movement. But once the British
fighter had settled into her stride, she used her superior strength
and reach to contain the Portugeese.
For the third of the day
Clark's contest went to flags. Somewhat harshly she lost the decision
3-0. Still, a European silver medal for Clark was a great result
and has justified her switch in weight category.
Commenting on Sarah's
win Patrick Roux, British Judo Head Coach said, “I am delighted
with Sarah Clark's fantastic performance in Tbilisi. She was very
unlucky not to win the decision in the final, which in my opinion
should have been hers. Throughout the day, Sarah combined a great
balance of tactical intelligence and aggression- this performance
and Sarah’s professionalism should inspire the entire GB team".
Comenting on the performances
of the rest of the team he said, "During the competition
James Millar, Euan Burton, Andy Burns and Alex Farbon all gave
an indication of their potential, similarly we have seen these
indications earlier in the year from Sally Conway and Colin Oates
though they were unable to build on this at the European Championships.
Unfortunately Sarah Adlington was injured prior to competition
and had to withdraw from the event- again a player who has shown
her potential earlier in the year.
Finally he added "We
went into this European Championships with a clear understanding
of where we are in this Olympic Cycle, and that there is still
a substantial gap to the International Elite. We must continue
to focus on what we need to achieve over the remainder of this
Foundation period. We therefore need to return to the Confirmation
Process with all the players for the World Championships in Rotterdam
and we need to ensure the most relevant experiences for these
players during this phase.
The junior British team
were also in action over the weekend in St Petersburg at the Russian
A Tournament, where Gemma Howell won gold in the -57kg weight
category.
Media Contact:
Emma Griffin
(t) 07875 368495
emmagriffin@britishjudo.org.uk
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