GB Juniors Continue Hot Form in Poznan and Dakar
March 30, 2026
GB Judo continued their recent good form in international competition with a further four medals from the Junior squad.
Nicole Wood (Bishops Stortford Judokwai) continued her impressive form with a second medal in as many weeks as she secured a Silver in the -78kg in Poznan to follow topping the podium in Riga last week.
After receiving a bye in the opening round, she made up for the missed mat time as she was pushed to Golden Score by Poland’s Nikola Zareba, with Wood eventually managing to hook Zareba’s ankles and force the Polish fighter to the mat for ippon. Consistent high-intensity pressure from Wood saw her Georgian opponent in the Semi Finals pick up three shidos as she progressed into the final against Poland’s Magda Glubiak. It was a closely fought final with Wood finding herself on the wrong side of a single waza-ari score, but her head held high after another medal-winning performance.
Kate Chisholm (Judo Sensei London) claimed a maiden international medal as she joined Wood in winning Silver. The -52kg fighter spent plenty of time on the mat and was pushed to her limits throughout the day with several contest decided in Golden Score. She claimed her opening round fight courtesy of a single Yuko before a long contest in the Quarter Finals saw Ukraine’s Yelyzaveta Yemelianova pick up three shidos. A further Golden Score contest saw the Semi Final decided to a Yuko. Chisholm couldn’t maintain the momentum though and struggled to find a way past Aysun Mammadova (AZE) in the final with two Yukos separating the fighters.
Lola Hodson (Dragons Academy) secured her second medal in as many months as she fought her way to Bronze in the same category. She opened up her account in Poland with an assured win against home fighter Roza Nowosad before succumbing to defeat against eventual Gold medalist Mammadova. She bounced back admirably to claim both of her Repechage contests comfortably before taking home the medal with an expertly timed Kouchi Gari in opening minute of the Bronze medal fight against Georgia’s Mariam Bendeliani.
Over in Dakar, Ben Moore (Bradley Stoke JC) secured GB’s only medal of the competition, courtesy of a Bronze medal in the -73kg competition. He forced his opening round opponent onto the mat before forcing him to submit. A tough Quarter Final saw Moore defeated by Algeria’s Houd Zourdani thanks to a single waza-ari before winning by the same scoreline in his repechage contest. The Bronze medal fight went the distance and Moore found himself a waza-ari score up in the opening minute. He showed excellent contest minute for the remaining three minutes to secure the medal, and didn’t offer his opponent much of an opening apart from a Yuko score.
It was a tough weekend over in Dubrovnik and Teplice with no GB fighters placing in the competitive competitions.
