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Camberley Judo Club’s
Daniel Williams, Samantha Lowe and Karina Bryant are primed for
a medal challenge at the Senior European Championships in Vienna,
Austria from April 23rd – 25th.
The club originally had
an impressive quartet of players selected but talented youngster
Sophie Johnstone has been forced to withdraw after injuring her
knee in training.
Despite losing a key member
of the team the mood remains upbeat amongst the Camberley fighters
who are poised to challenge for honours.
Samantha Lowe has also
been hit by injury - a minor shoulder problem - which has limited
her time on the mat.
“I’m working around the
injury, I’ve been going out on the bike and doing running,” said
Lowe.
“I’ve had a stop start
year with injuries; it hasn’t been perfect by any means.”
“The shoulder will heal
in time for the tournament; it just means I have to change my
preparations.
Speaking before Johnstone’s
withdrawal was confirmed, Lowe added: “It definitely helps to
have club colleagues in the squad.”
“We live and train together
and we have a lot of belief in each other. We can see how hard
each other works and it rubs off.
“We’ll also have our club
coach Luke Preston with us. He won’t be on the mat but he’ll be
there when we’re warming up.”
Shropshire product Daniel
Williams, 20, is making his first appearance at the event and
is understandably in a buoyant mood.
“This is a massive step
on the ladder that’s for sure,” he said.
“To be around the likes
of James Millar and Euan Burton, people who’ve been there and
done it, is great for me. You can’t buy that. It’s important to
get that experience.”
“I want to achieve something
at the European Championships. I want to go there, perform well
and see what happens.”
Club and national colleague
Karina Bryant, a four-time gold medallist at the European Championships,
is due to return to England to conclude her preparations.
“I’m currently in Spain
for a training camp,” said Bryant.
“I’m looking forward to
joining up with the squad and competing again at the event.”
The British Judo Association
is the National Governing Body for the Olympic Sport of judo in
Great Britain.
Camberley Judo Club train
at Deer Rock Road, Surrey, GU15 4EP. The club hosts a technical
session for juniors and seniors on Wednesday at 19:00 – 20:15
with a Randori session for seniors on Thursday at 20:00.
Media Contact:
Mark Pickering
British Judo
(t) 01509 631674
(e) mark.pickering@britishjudo.org.uk
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