An Olympian from Thornbury has made steps towards Rio 2016 by winning the gold medal at an international judo competition, beating some of the world’s top athletes.
Sally Conway, 28, took the title at the Grand Prix match in Jeju, South Korea, a result which she says could make the difference in her bid to qualify for the Olympics next year.
Already an Olympian, having fought for GB at London 2012, as well as a Commonwealth Games bronze medallist, Conway is ranked 10th in the world in the Women’s 70kg category.
“This was one of the last two competitions of the year and I knew I wanted a good result to round off 2015 and firm up my rankings ahead of 2016,” said Conway.
“Qualification for Rio is at the end of May, and after Jeju I am feeling much more confident of competing in my second Olympics.”
Conway currently lives in Edinburgh while training with the GB judo squad but grew up in Thornbury, attending Marlwood School and learned her craft after starting at Thornbury Judo Club.
She is a favourite to retain her place in the GB squad next year as the top 14 in the World for each weight class qualify.
Fighting through four rounds in Jeju, Conway beat fighters from Russia, Israel and two from South Korea.
“This win meant a lot to me. I am always happy to walk away with a medal as it shows the work is paying off, but a gold is special.
“To beat two Koreans on their home turf was a great experience and is quite a boost in confidence as I was really happy with how I fought against them.
“Importantly, it also adds points which will go towards rankings and Rio qualification.
“Each tournament, I feel I am learning something new, both about myself and my opponents. It’s a game of chess so you will constantly change how you approach a fight, I am learning how to improve with each win and each loss.
“Just after the New Year, I am off to Austria for a ten day training camp, before the Paris Grand Prix in February, which is one of the biggest fights of the year.
“After that, I am off to Brazil for the Rio test event. My weight group isn’t competing at the event, but it will be a good chance to scope it out before I go there for real in August.”
Courtesy of: Gazette