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Judo’s Daniel Lyon helped
contribute to Team GB’s pole position on day three of the European
Youth Olympic Festival, winning bronze in the -66kg weight category.
After three days of
intense competition in Tampere, Finland, Britain has won 12 medals
- six gold, three silver and three bronze.
Lyon, competing in the
-66kg category, had to come through six tough fights to get his
hands on a hard earned bronze medal at the Tampere Ice Stadium;
“I’m tired but still feeling pumped up by it. It feels good. The
atmosphere in the stadium was really great, especially in the
bronze medal fight when everyone was getting up and cheering for
me.”
Looking ahead he added,
“This event has given me a little taste for the Olympics. I’ve
gained great experience and it has definitely made me into a better
judo player.”
Lucas Rowe narrowly
missed out on the medals in the -60kg weight category finishing
in 7 th place.
Judo’s Team Leader and
Sydney 2000 Olympian Karen Roberts, who competed in the inaugural
EYOF in 1991, was pleased that judo became the fourth out of six
sports to contribute to the Team GB medal count; “The boys put
in a really good performance today. Lucas Rowe bounced back well
after an early defeat to the number one seed and was only one
fight away from a bronze medal, while Daniel Lyon showed great
determination to claim a bronze medal through the repechage.”
Team GB Chef de Mission
Mark England said; “We’re delighted to be leading the 49 nation
European Youth Olympics with just two days of competition remaining.
We have witnessed a number of truly outstanding performances from
Team GB athletes.
“It bodes well for the
next generation of British Olympic sport that we’re now consistently
winning at the highest level, and it’s great that we’re beating
powerful Olympic nations such as Russia, Germany, Italy, and France.
"Concentrating
on the contribution of all Team GB members he added; “It is particularly
pleasing that four out of our six sports (athletics, cycling,
judo and swimming) have already contributed to the Team GB medal
board, with the tennis boys just one match away from securing
a medal in the doubles and our gymnasts now going for individual
success following a pair of encouraging fifth place finishes in
the team events.
“The athletes, coaches
and support staff are totally focussed on achieving the best results
possible over the final two days of competition to potentially
push Team GB to their best EYOF results ever.”
Bronze
medallist Daniel Lyon with BJA Chairman, Densign White and other
members of the EYOF judo delegation
©
EJU
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