Search     Sitemap     Feedback 
Click here to view the British Judo Visually Impaired Information
Judo Diary
Click here to view and buy British Judo Merchandise
Click here to view
Click here to view

GB takes Swedish Open by storm

Euan Burton (-90kg) and Sarah Clark (-63kg) both took gold medals at the 2009 Swedish Open, held from the 31st October – 1st November, earning them a 1000€ reward.

The two gold medallist were funded by JudoScotland to compete in this event, and three other medal winners entered themselves alongside the selcted GB Team including Colin Oates (-66kg), Megan Fletcher (-70kg) and Sophie Johnstone (-52kg), who all took bronze.

Burton breezed through the preliminary rounds to face faced British Open bronze medallist Victor Semenov of Russia in the semi-final. Beating Semenov by ippon, Burton progressed to the final to fight Max Schirnhofer of Austria. The Brit won by ippon and took the gold medal.

Clark was back on form after sustaining an elbow injury at the Minsk World Cup, which put her out of the competition after just one fight. The European silver medallist beat Anna Bernholm of Sweden in the first round, Agat Ozdoba of Poland in the second and Marit Gier of the Netherlands in the third round. Clark then went on to beat Hilde Drexler of Austria in the semi-final, after the contest went to flags. Earning her the gold medal, Clark beat Sabrina Filzmoser of Austria in the final.

The 15-strong selected team also performed well, returning with four medals.

Adding to her Tre Torri gold medal this year, Samantha Clark settled for the silver medal in the -52kg weight category, after losing to Barbara Moros of Hungary in the final

Gemma Gibbons also took a silver medal, in the -70kg competition. Gibbons beat Margarita Gurtsieva of Russia in the final by an ippon score.


Both finishing with bronze medals in the -60kg weight category was Nathon Burns and Ashley McKenzie. McKenzie beat GB’s Gregg Varey in the fight for third place, after Varey had won his pool but lost the semi-final fight to Evgeny Kudyakov of Russia, earning him 5th place.

Finishing in 7th Place from the GB delegation was Connie Ramsay (-57kg) and Khalid Gehlan (-66kg). Also entering themselves into the Open was Samantha Lowe (-78kg), Gareth Fairclough (-60kg) and James Austin (-90kg) who finished in 7th place.

The GB Team will stay in Sweden until the 5th November to attend a training camp in the city of Boras.

Name Weight Category Club Home Town Medal
Euan Burton -90kg Edinburgh Judo Club Edinburgh Gold
Sarah Clark -63kg Edinburgh Judo Club Southshields Gold
Samantha Clark - 52kg JudoScotland Livingstone Silver
Gemma Gibbons -70kg Metro Judo Club Greenwich Silver
Nathon Burns -60kg Camberley Judo Club Camberley Bronze
Ashley McKenzie -60kg London London Bronze
Colin Oates -66kg Kumo Judo Club North Lopham Bronze
Megan Fletcher -70kg Pinewood Wokingham Bronze
Sophie Johnstone -52kg Camberley Judo Club Brighton Bronze

Media Contact:

Nicola Turner

Communications Assistant

(e) nicola.turner@britishjudo.org.uk

(t) 01509 631695/07854244343


© British Judo Association 2003.   Email all comments to webmaster@britishjudo.org.uk|terms and conditions|Privacy Policy