TEAM ANNOUNCEMENT: 2017 Under-23 European Championships

GB Judo will take a five strong team to the 2017 U23 European Championships in Podgorica, Montenegro from Friday 10 to Sunday 12 November.

Kelly Staddon (-48kg), Emma Reid (-78kg), Daniel Powell (-73kg), Eric Ham (-73kg) and James Hayes (-81kg) will be looking to match the efforts of the GB team in 2016 that took home three medals including gold for Lucy Renshall.

Lightweight judoka Staddon fought at last year’s Under-23s and finished seventh, losing to eventual champion Milica Nikolic (SRB). However, the Ford Judo Club judoka has enjoyed some of her best senior results to date recently including gold at the Saarbruecken Senior European Cup and silver at the Belgrade European Open.

Emma Reid will be making her continental championship debut in Montenegro off the back of some solid performances at senior level this year including a fifth at the Bratislava Senior European Cup. She also took home silver at the European Universities Championships in Coimbra.

Daniel Powell is another to have enjoyed a good 2017 with bronze medals at the St Petersburg and Paks Junior European Cups as well a seventh at the Junior European Championships in Maribor. The Wolverhampton judoka also played a key role in the bronze medal won by the Men’s Team at the Junior European Championships last month.

Like Powell, Eric Ham has performed well this year showing his ability at both Senior and Junior level. Bronze medals at the Leibnitz and Arad Junior European Cups as well as a seventh at the Rome European Open have been highlights. The Glossop judoka was also a member of the Men’s Team at the Junior European Championships as they won an historic bronze.

Bradley Stoke’s James Hayes will be aiming to bring the form he has shown this year to the mat in Montenegro. A bronze at the Gdynia Junior European Cup was followed by a Team bronze at the Junior European Championships, where also fought in the individual event.

Competition starts at 1000 UK time on all three days with live coverage via eju.net and updates via @BritishJudo on Twitter