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Great Britain charged
to an impressive eight-medal haul and third place in the overall
medal table at the ‘B’ European Cup in Celje, Slovenia, on Saturday
19th and Sunday 20th June.
The talent-rich squad
consisted of 32 players, with 17 women and 15 men.
Leading the way was
long-time standout Winston Gordon who provided a timely reminder
of the talent which saw him compete at the 2004 and 2008 Olympics,
by surging to gold in the under 90kg weight category.
Gordon, 33, who was
returning to the British fold after a nine month absence, showed
he was in peak condition as he continued his return from a knee
injury.
“It’s a nice feeling
to get back in the swing of things,” said Gordon.
“I went out and I enjoyed
it, it’s important to make sure I’m ticking all the right boxes
and my techniques are looking sharp. Hopefully I can push from
here and keep on the mind of the selectors.”
Gordon, who's itching
to compete at London 2012, won his five fights in emphatic fashion,
four coming by way of ippon.
The 2009 British Open
winner opened his campaign with a win over Manrico Frigerio of
Switzerland. He comfortably dispatched Romanian Fabian Munteanu
before edging out German Simon Emhardt, the only contest he didn’t
want by ippon.
The popular fighter
overcome German Maksym Chykurda and sealed an impressive gold
medal by besting Rob Van Laarhoven from the Netherlands.
Fellow recent injury-victim
Gemma Howell, who marked her return to action by winning gold
at the British Open in May, returned to her natural under 57kg
weight class to triumph in Slovenia.
Howell, 19, saw off
German Hannan Brueck in her opening contest and Eva Erlebach of
Switzerland in her next outing.
The teenager silenced
the partisan crowd as she defeated Slovenia’s Anja Pecnak by ippon.
In the final the highly-regarded Brit defeated Hungarian Hedvig
Karakas by a yuko score.
Elsewhere, under 81kg
fighter Adam Bick and under 70kg contender Scarlett Woolcock,
who missed the British Open after aggravating a shoulder injury,
both claimed silver medals.
Britain took four bronze
medals with Faith Pitman, Sarah Adlington and Sally Conway joining
Tom Davis on the final place on the medal rostrum.
Medallists:
Gold: Winston Gordon
(Under 90kg), Gemma Howell (Under 57kg)
Silver: Adam Bick (Under 81kg), Scarlett Woolcock (Under 70kg)
Bronze: Faith Pitman (Under 63kg), Sally Conway (Under 70kg),
Sarah Adlington (Over 78kg), Tom Davis (Under 81kg)
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