Judo - Kendal feats earn 'Best in Britain' tag (From The Westmorland Gazette)

Judo - Kendal feats earn 'Best in Britain' tag

2:00pm Thursday 31st March 2011 in Sport

KENDAL Judo Club can lay claim to being the top club in Britain after they returned from this year’s English Open Judo Championships with two new English champions and a runner-up for the title.

No other club had more than one player involved in a final at the championship held in Sheffield, which attracted an entry of more than 200 of the top competitors.

First on the winners’ rostrum for Kendal was David Groom, who in his first contest took only a minute to despatch Adam Palmer from Torquay with a sweeping hip throw.

His second contest lasted slightly longer but the result was the same against National Squad player Jerome Robinson-Reid, from Willesden in London.

Yet another full-point throw, this time against Thomas Williams, from Dagenham, put Groom into the final.

He faced Thomas Reed from Devizes and the contest went to sudden-death “golden score” time, during which the Kendal player produced a medium-score throw to capture the gold.

Danny Harper was the next Kendal player to fight his way to the medals. He quickly disposed of Russell Bruce, from Grimsby, with a half-point throw, followed by a 20-second pin for the full point to move into the quarter-finals.

The referee and judges then gave Harper the decision over European Youth Olympic Day competitor, Marcus Boscombe, from Dorset.

In the semi-final against Craig Mullins, from Scotland, Harper subdued the Scot with a 25-second hold-down to win halfway through the contest.

The final pitted him against Patrick Dawson, from Edinburgh, and Harper was well ahead and dominating the contest, when with less than 20 seconds to go a lucky attack from the Scottish player robbed him of gold. Nonetheless, the silver confirmed that he is back in top form.

The third of Kendal’s trio, Michael Horley started his day with a 50-second win over Ian Forrest, from Peterborough. Horley’s next contest did not last much longer with another combination throw against Arunas Miseckas’ also from Peterborough.

In the final Horley was up against Andrew Burns, lying a place above him in the National Ranking List and an opponent he had never beaten.

After just over two minutes, Horley produced the throw of the day – the shoulder throw - a favourite of the 6ft 3in Kendal player to become the English champion.

The three Kendal medallists on the rostrum. Left to right: David Groom, Danny Harper, Michael Horley.