British Judoka Shine at Berlin Junior European Cup and Venray International Tournament
June 23, 2025
It was a successful weekend for British judoka at both the Berlin Junior European Cup and the Venray International Judo Tournament in 2025, with many medals returning home with our young judoka.
Starting in Berlin, GB secured one gold medal, one bronze and a 7th place finish.
Our only gold medal in Berlin came from Ben Levy (Budokwai) in the -73kg category, who delivered a flawless performance throughout the day, winning all six of his contests whilst conceding just a single waza-ari.
Levy has been in outstanding form in 2025, securing gold at the Warsaw European Open, Kaunas Junior European Cup, and now the Berlin Junior European Cup.
He has also placed 5th at the Poznań Junior European Cup and 7th at the Graz Junior European Cup, in addition to making his debut appearance at the Senior European Championships.
Chloe Link (Relentless Judo) also made her mark on the podium, securing a hard-earned bronze medal in the -57kg category to continue her impressive form.
It was a day of resilience for Link, who began strongly with an ippon victory in her round of 32 match. In the round of 16, she faced a tough battle that went into golden score and lasted nearly six minutes before she was thrown, sending her into the repechage.
Undeterred by the setback, Link responded in outstanding fashion, winning all three of her repechage bouts by ippon to earn a place in the bronze medal match, which she went on to win.
Remarkably, this marks her third consecutive bronze medal on the European circuit, having also finished third at the Kaunas Junior European Cup last month and the Poznań Junior European Cup in April.
Finally, Sophie Wood (Sportif) was the last of our British judoka to secure a top-seven finish. She made a strong start to the day, winning her first two contests to progress to the quarter-finals.
Unfortunately, a defeat in the quarter-final sent her into the repechage, where she picked up another win before narrowly missing out in her second repechage bout.
It was a solid performance, earning valuable ranking points and more international experience.
Over in the Netherlands, a large contingent of British judoka competed at the Venray International Judo Tournament, bringing home an impressive medal haul across the Pre-Cadet, Cadet, and Junior categories.
In the Pre-Cadet division, gold medals went to Louie Seguin (-42kg, Tonbridge JC) and Evie Mitchell (-57kg, The Parks JC).
Silver medals were earned by James Parker (-60kg, SKK) and Autumn Onyesom-Enu (+63kg, Toshi Kazoku JC), Ashwin Yoganathan (-46kg, Samurai Olympic JC).
Bronze medals went to David Roznerita (-30kg, Subarashi Judo Club), James Brae (-38kg, Bradley Stoke JC), Katrina Davis (-40kg, Yamato JC), Cuthbert Walker (-42kg, Tees Valley Judo), Isaac Church (-50kg, Tees Valley Judo), Mikhail Hussain (-60kg, Kin Ryu JC), Zach Robbins (-66kg, Leicester JA), and Summer Lyons-Ashworth (+63kg, SKK).
Top-seven finishes also came from Kayleigh Davis (5th, -63kg, Yamato JC), Callum Dodds (7th, -38kg, Tees Valley Judo), Yarden Hadad (7th, -42kg, Ealing JC), Daisy O’Brian (7th, -44kg, Wirral JC), Harry Walker (7th, -46kg, Tees Valley Judo), Michael Richardson (7th, -60kg, Blyth Juno Michi), and Jenson Jones (7th, -66kg, Leicester JA).
In the Cadet category, silver medals were won by Hannah King (-48kg, Bishop Stortford JK), Reece Blackshaw (-55kg, Penistone JC), Evan Anderson (-60kg, Blyth Juno Michi), Peter Crawford (-90kg, Kin Ryu JC), and Robyn Davies (-70kg, Ealing JC).
Bronze medals were earned by James Leroux (-55kg, Rush/Renzoku JC), Stanley Pusey (-60kg, Micklefield JC), and Haaris McGrorty (-50kg, Sportif).
Fifth-place finishes went to Mahnoor Mirza (-44kg, Judo Sensei London), Barney Peel (-46kg, Blyth Juno Michi), Samuel Knights (-50kg, Mike’s JC), and Lizzy Merredew (-57kg, Bishop Stortford JK), while Michael Puskas (-50kg, Stratford JC) and Hanna Marczak (-70kg, Judo Sensei London) placed seventh.
In the Junior division, Jay Parkin (Micklefield JC) took gold in the -100kg category, while Quinn Armstrong (The Judo Academy, -100kg) secured silver. Rhea Pinder (Relentless JC, -57kg) and Joe Buchanan (Sportif, -60kg) both claimed bronze. Steven Rabet (Sportif, -73kg) secured a strong 5th-place finish, and Conall McGivern (The Judo Academy, -73kg) placed 7th.
In the Senior category, Maria Moss (Subarashi Judo Club, +78kg) took silver, Oliver Ridout (Camberley, -73kg) and Ben Fox-Kennedy (Camberley, -81kg) both took bronze, while Ewan Murray (The Judo Academy, -66kg) placed 7th.
Congratulations to everyone who competed this weekend!
