2022/23 Olympic and Paralympic World Class Programme Judoka Announced

A total of 33 judoka have been nominated for membership to join the GB Judo Olympic and Paralympic World Class Performance Programme (WCPP) for 2022/23.

The WCPP is UK Sport’s National Lottery-funded initiative supporting the delivery of success at named milestone targets, namely World and European Championships and Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The WCPP is split into several levels reflecting the actual and potential performance levels of athletes: Podium, Podium Potential and Programme. Judoka are nominated for the WCPP to further the aim of GB Judo to win medals at the 2024 and/or 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games. British Judo are committed to the principle that winning will always be achieved with integrity and in line with UK Sport’s ambition of ‘Keep Winning and Win Well’.

Therefore, GB Judo must be confident that any judoka nominated for the WCPP has the realistic potential and demonstrable performance capability and capacity to make the necessary progress to achieve a medal at least in one of the next two Olympic or Paralympic Games.

As per previous years, the nomination for membership on the WCPP is subject to UK Sport ratification and a signed athlete agreement between the judoka and GB Judo.

Following her European gold and World silver medal, Chelsie Giles retains her Olympic Podium funding position and is joined by Nekoda Davis following her return from pregnancy and Lucy Renshall, who has been promoted from Podium Potential following her rise to World Number 1 and multiple Grand Slam victories.

Paralympic Champion Chris Skelley is joined by recent IBSA World Championship silver medallist Daniel Powell in receiving Paralympic Podium funding.

Eric Ham, Josh Giles, Michael Fryer, Sian Bobrowska and Max Gregory have all been promoted from ‘Programme level’ to join the Olympic Podium Potential programme whilst Samuel Hall and Rhys Thompson join the programme having also been offered a place on the Olympic Podium Potential programme, following their impressive last 12 months.

British Judo also provides additional support for ‘Programme’ judoka who are based at the Olympic and Paralympic National Training Centre. This support is designed to support young judoka as they transition onto the WCPP.

Following some impressive performances on the IBSA circuit this year, Connah Anders and Kirsten Taylor have been invited to become Programme level judoka.

British Judo Performance Director, Nigel Donohue, said:

“It has been another fantastic year across our Olympic and Paralympic Programmes.

“There have been a number of standout performances including Chelsie Giles and Gemma Howell both winning European gold in Sofia, Lucy Renshall dominating the IJF World Tour and cementing her place at the top of the world rankings, Chelsie winning silver at the World Championships to join an exclusive club, at the age of 25, to hold medals from Olympic, World and European Championships.

“It was fantastic to see Daniel Powell return from his sabbatical to claim silver at the IBSA World Championships.

“This is an exciting time in this cycle as we enter the final 18 months of Paris qualification and we find ourselves in a much stronger position than we did prior to Tokyo 2020, with a number of Olympic and Paralympic judoka in direct qualification positions, with a focus on achieving top 8 qualification positions.

“I would like to thank UK Sport and the National Lottery for their continued investment in the World Class Performance Programme. Their support is essential in helping British Judo to execute our Paris and LA strategy for continued and future success at the Olympic and Paralympic Games.”

GB Judo Olympic and Paralympic World Class Performance Programme for 2022/23:

Olympic Podium

Chelsie Giles (Coventry Judo Club; Simon Moss)

Nekoda Davis (Ealing Judo Club; Jo Crowley)

Lucy Renshall (SKK; Pete Blood)

Paralympic Podium

Chris Skelley (Haltemprice; Ian Johns)

Daniel Powell

Olympic Podium Potential

Kelly Petersen-Pollard (Hardy Spicer; Fitzroy Davies)

Gemma Howell (Wolverhampton JC; Bill Kelly)

Jemima Yeats-Brown (Ryecroft Judokwai; Ian Oliver)

Stuart McWatt (Gairoch JC; Stuart McWatt)

Emma Reid (Redbridge JC; Steve Sandy)

Acelya Toprak (Metro JC/ Relentless Judo; Darren Hawney/ Fitzroy Davies)

Lachlan Moorhead (Sheffield JC; Matt Moorhead)

Eric Ham (Glossop JC; Geoff Ham)

Jamal Petgrave (Westcroft JC; Andy Ede)

Josh Giles (Coventry Judo Club; Simon Moss)

Daniel Powell

Michael Fryer (Rush Judo; Laurie Rush)

Rhys Thompson (Enfield JC; George Hyslop)

Samuel Hall (Ryecroft JC; Fitzroy Davies)

Amy Platten (Redbridge JC; Guy Platten)

Sian Bobrowska (Hardy Spicer; Fitzroy Davies)

Shelley Ludford (Judo Club Osaka; Adrian Dove)

Max Gregory (Drake JC; Gary Gregory)

Paralympic Podium Potential

Jack Hodgson (Grimsby JC; Terry Alltoft)

Evan Molloy (Devizes JC; Mark Burbridge)

Programme

Charlie Young (Ryecroft Judokwai; Paul Young)

Ollie Barratt (Dragons Judo Academy; Stephen Abberley)

Harry Lovell-Hewitt (Stroud JC; Richard Neale)

Connah Anders (Hardy Spicer; Fitzroy Davies)

Kirsten Taylor (Tayside JC; David Scobie)

Caitlin Barber (Middlesborough JC: Garth Illingworth)

Isobel Kitchen (Huddersfield; Andy Merchant/ Seth Birch)

Niamh Southgate (Black Dog JC; Mark Purllant)

Under Review – March 2023

Wesley Greenidge (Enfield JC; George Hyslop)

Max Stewart (Stewart Judo Academy; Dennis Stewart)

Andrew McWatt (Gairoch JC; Stuart McWatt)

Yasmin Javadian (Coventry Judo Club; Simon Moss)

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