DANNY Harper from Kendal Judo Club continued his remarkable comeback from a year long injury recovery when he scooped two medals.
Harper won gold in Gateshead at the Northern Area British Judo Association Open having earlier won bronze at the Welsh Open Championships.
His Welsh competition did not start so well when he lost to the eventual finalist Ian Feenan, from Scotland, but Harper came back very strongly in the repechage to beat the Welsh home favourite with a throw and a hold.
Then in the bronze medal contest, against Scott Imrie from West Lothian, the Kendal player had a very hard fight coming from behind to win the medal with just three seconds left of the contest.
In Gateshead, he was the number two seed but nearly lost his first contest after the referee refused to recognise a new technique the Kendal Judo Club member had been perfecting for several weeks.
Fortunately, Harper, an elite judo player with hopes of competing at the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games, was able to use a more classic pin to win the contest and he then went on to beat Sebastian Nadal in a contest which was the repeat of the gold medal battle Harper had in his comeback tournament in Devizes.
This put him in the final, up against his opponent from the Welsh Championships, Scott Imrie. Harper’s non-stop attacking and knowledge he had gained from the previous meeting gave the Scottish player no chance and the gold belonged to the Kendal man.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here