Five Medals for GB Judo on Final Day in Walsall
July 27, 2025
France stormed to the top of the medal table on the second day of the Junior European Cup in Walsall as they finished the competition with six Gold medals.
Hosts Great Britain finished the weekend in third position with a final tally of two Gold, one Silver and five Bronze medals.
Following on from Charlie Ayre, Irakli Goginashvili and Millie Bayliss taking home medals on the opening day, GB Judo added a further five medals on a pulsating final day of action.
Lola Hodson offered GB their only shot at Gold on the day as she progressed through to the final of the -52kg competition. France’s World Junior Bronze medalist Alyssia Poulange stood in the way of Hodson and her experience proved too much for the Welsh judoka as she secured the ippon victory. The silver medal continued Hodson’s impressive 2025 that has seen her pick up five medals to date.
Hodson was joined on the podium by compatriot Maddie Kissenisky, who fought her way onto an international podium for the first time. She had narrowly missed out on two occasions previously this year with fifth-place finishes in Kaunas and Portimao. She was determined to secure her first medal cheered on by friends and family in the crowd as she toppled compatriot Kate Chisholm.
Daniel Ede enjoys performing in Walsall after he picked up Bronze in the +100kg to compliment the Silver medal won last year. An excellent Final Block contest saw him defeat Croatia’s Luka Ivankovic in a fight that could have gone either way. Two waza-ari scores secured the win and sparked celebrations amongst his team mates in the stand.
There was yet another medal for Chloe Link as she continued her remarkable run in the -57kg which has seen her medal in her previous five competitions – the very definition of consistency! She couldn’t fight her way to the top of the podium today, but a well-earned bronze medal keeps up the young Brits momentum and improves on her fifth-place result from last year.
Hannah King fought her way to a first Bronze medal in the -48kg competition after a closely-fought contest. A single Yuko was enough to defeat Belgium’s Lena Antoine and give King her first international medal in just her second competition.
There were further opportunities for GB to add to the medals with Kevin Gordon (-100kg), and Eryk Neumann (-81kg) falling just short in their respective medal contests.
It was an excellent weekend for GB Judo on home soil and allowed the junior squad to give a glimpse into what will be an exciting future on the tatami.
