Camberley Judo Club returned from the weekends British Open triumphant. The club secured two gold medals, silver and one 5th place finish from its squad. On the first day of action heavyweight Karina Bryant got the club off to a flying start winning the gold medal and all of her contests by the maximum score. Karina defeated fighters from Austria and Germany before beating her Spanish opponent in the final within the first few seconds from a devastating arm bar. It was a great return to competitive action for Bryant who had not competed since the Beijing Olympics. She will now look to build on this result and secure selection for the upcoming World Championships in August.
Also on the first day twenty year old Danny Williams blazed his way to the semi finals defeating fighters from Britain, Germany and Spain en route. In a tight fought semi final against another Spanish opponent Danny eventually lost by a pin. In the bronze medal match against a strong German opponent Danny lost in overtime (golden score) in probably the most exciting fight of the day.
The second day saw Peter Lomax fight up a weight at under 100kgs. Peter electrified the crowd with a stunning display of power throwing. He defeated opponents from Austria, Holland and Lithuania to reach the final. Here he produced the throw of the day against a strong Spanish fighter to win his first British Open title in under a minute. Becky Dunning, who represents the RAF judo team, but trains at Camberley won her British Open medal. She beat opponents from France, Britain and Belgium to reach the final. Becky withdrew due to a shoulder injury but took home a well earned silver medal. Camberley topped the medal table from clubs in the UK as the only British club to win two gold medals at this year’s open.