#JudoWorlds2018 Preview: -60kg & -90kg

Ashley McKenzie -60kg

WRL 10

Age 29

Best Result in 2018: European Judo Championships Bronze

Two-time Olympian McKenzie has had another consistent year on the IJF World Tour with three medals and two fifth places in five competitions.

A fifth at the Tunis Grand Prix in January was followed by bronze at the Paris Grand Slam in February, GB’s first male medallist in Paris since 2008.

Just a couple of weeks later McKenzie missed out on another Grand Slam medal, this time in Dusseldorf, losing a close fight for bronze.

At the European Judo Championships in Tel Aviv the Camberley fighter won the second European medal of his career, his first coming at the 2013 Championships in Budapest.

That result set him up well for the start of Olympic qualification and the dynamic lightweight judoka continued his strong run of form with another bronze at the Zagreb Grand Prix in July.

McKenzie will fight on day one of the competition at the World Judo Championships on Thursday 20 September.

Max Stewart -90kg

WRL 40

Age 25

Best Result in 2018: Zagreb Grand Prix Fifth

Birmingham judoka Stewart had an injury hit start to 2018 after an ankle injury in late 2017 kept him off the mat for a number of months.

The two-time Grand Prix medallist made his return to international competition at the Hohhot Grand Prix in May but was unable to get through the early rounds in China.

He more than made up for that in Zagreb a month later as he finished fifth in a strong field including a win over former World silver medallist and then WRL 8 Krisztian Toth (HUN).

Current World Champion Nemanja Majdov (SRB) was just too good in the bronze medal fight but the British judoka had got six fights under his belt in Croatia.

A month later Stewart suffered a round of 16 exit at the Budapest Grand Prix but once again the British fighter had managed to get more fights under his belt ahead of the Worlds in Baku.

This will be his second appearance at a Senior World Judo Championships following his debut in 2017.

Stewart will fight on the fifth day of competition at the World Championships in Baku on Monday 24 September.