2023/24 Olympic and Paralympic World Class Performance Programme Judoka Announced

A total of 32 athletes have been nominated for membership to join the British Judo Olympic and Paralympic World Class Performance Programme (WCPP) for 2023/24.

The Olympic and Paralympic WCPP is UK Sport’s National Lottery funded initiative which has the purpose to identify, develop and support talented athletes towards medal success at the Olympic and Paralympic Games and other major Championships.

The WCPP is split into levels reflecting the actual and potential performance development levels of athletes: Podium and Podium Potential. Athletes are nominated for the WCPP to further the aim of British Judo to win medals at the Paris 2024 and Los Angeles 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Therefore, British Judo must be confident that any athlete 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. British Judo is 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’.

As with previous years, the WCPP membership is subject to UK Sport ratification and a signed athlete agreement between the athlete and British Judo.

All at British Judo would like to thank UK Sport and the National Lottery for their continued investment and support in the World Class Programme. Their support is essential in helping our athletes be the best prepared they can be for the biggest competitions in our sport.

British Judo Performance Director, Nigel Donohue commented: “We very much appreciate the support we receive from UK Sport and the National Lottery, which is instrumental in providing British Judo with the necessary resources to deliver a high-performance programme.

“This is the most exciting year of the cycle as we near the end of qualification for the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games in readiness for Paris 2024. Although there is still a lot of work to do, we believe we have the potential to repeat our previous Games medal success.

“Post Games, we execute our LA2028 strategy that we have been preparing for, over the last 4 years.

“Without the support we receive from UK Sport, we would never be able to deliver such a World Class Programme or the fighters would not have the financial capacity to commit to the demands of elite judo.

“The National Lottery has changed the landscape of Olympic and Paralympic sport in the UK and we aim to continue to contribute to TeamGB and ParalympicGB’s Games success.”

Olympic Podium

Chelsie Giles (Coventry Judo Club; Simon Moss)

Nekoda Davis (Ealing Judo Club; Jo Crowley)

Lucy Renshall (SKK; Pete Blood)

Jemima Yeats-Brown (Ryecroft Judokwai; Ian Oliver)

Paralympic Podium

Chris Skelley (Haltemprice; Ian Johns)

Daniel Powell

Olympic Podium Potential

Kelly Petersen-Pollard (Hardy Spicer; Fitzroy Davies)

Emma Reid (Redbridge JC; Steve Sandy)

Natalie Powell (Irfon JC/ Cardiff Judo; Darren Warner)

Stuart McWatt (Gairoch JC; Stuart McWatt)

Lachlan Moorhead (Sheffield JC; Matt Moorhead)

Eric Ham (Glossop JC; Geoff Ham)

Jamal Petgrave (Westcroft JC; Andy Ede)

Rhys Thompson (Enfield JC; George Hyslop)

Samuel Hall (Ryecroft JC; Fitzroy Davies)

Amy Platten (Redbridge JC; Guy Platten)

Shelley Ludford (Judo Club Osaka; Adrian Dove)

Ollie Barratt (Dragons Judo Academy; Stephen Abberley)

Charlie Young (Ryecroft Judokwai; Paul Young)

Harry Lovell-Hewitt (Stroud JC; Richard Neale)

Wesley Greenidge (Enfield JC; George Hyslop)

Max Gregory (Drake JC; Gary Gregory)

Michael Fryer (Rush Judo; Laurie Rush)

Paralympic Podium Potential

Jack Hodgson (Grimsby JC; Terry Alltoft)

Evan Molloy (Devizes JC; Mark Burbridge)

Programme:

Olympic:

Sian Bobrowska (Hardy Spicer; Fitzroy Davies)

Caitlin Barber (Middlesbrough; Garth Illingworth)

Isobel Kitchen (Huddersfield; Andy Merchant & Seth Birch)

Lewis Fryer (Rush Judo; Laurie Rush)

Summer Shaw (Camberley JC; Luke Preston)

Charlotte Jenman (Tonbridge; Ben Urban)

Paralympic

Kirsten Taylor (Tayside Judo; David Scoobie)

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