Gold for Lucy Renshall at Junior European Judo Cup in Berlin

Lucy Renshall capped off a strong British performance at the Junior European Judo Cup in Berlin by winning the gold medal in the -63kg category. 

The -63kg competition was dominated by British judoka as Lucy overcame compatriot Lubjana Piovesana in the final to claim the gold medal. 

Victories over Anna Popova (RUS), Meriem Bjaoui (TUN) and Alexia Castilhos (BRA) earlier in the competition set up a closely fought final with Piovesana which Lucy won 3-1 on penalties.   

“It was great to get the gold, especially as I’m now the first girl from Great Britain to win in Berlin at this event”, said Lucy.

“Me and Lubjana train with each other all the time so it was a really tough final. We both knew it would be very close, but I managed to come out on top today”.

The medal haul continued for GB as Bekky Livesey (-57kgs), Samuel Hall (-60kg) and Stuart McWatt (-81kg) all put in strong performances to take home a bronze medal each. 

Elsewhere there were fifth place finishes for Katie-Jemima Yeats-Brown (-63kg) and Peter Miles (-60kg) while Jodie Caller (-57kg) and Michelle Boyle (+78kg) came seventh.  Eric Ham (-73kg) came ninth. 

British Judo Performance Director Nigel Donohue was pleased with the team’s performance in Berlin: “On the back of Junior European Cup in Poland where we won 7 medals, the group have performed well again and won five medals. The medals and getting on the rostrum are important as we are producing players with the winning mentality, which has been duly noted by other nations. However, the most pleasing aspect with these young players is the quality of their Judo. 

“We have developed a Trademark technical programme which we believe will eventually give them the tools to perform in the senior programme. This is underpinned by a ‘Fight without Fear’ attitude. In Germany, this was evident as we saw some fantastic wins against strong opposition. It was very pleasing to see the players execute the technical work practiced in training, come off whilst under pressure in competition.

“Our -63kg girls are the most feared in Europe, whilst Sam Hall is really maturing as a player, having picked up medals recently at the British Open and the European Cups in Poland and now Germany. Stuart McWatt, who is a first year Junior, is performing well beyond his years as well. 

“This is a very exciting group of players and we are really proud of their development over the last few years. Now we are looking forwards at the next key events for them, the Junior European and Junior World Championships”. 

The next Junior European Cup will take place in Deva, Romania on the 22-23^rd August.