Medals from the Heart of England

Samurai Uladh players performed magnificently at the recent Heart of England Championships in Wolverhampton University. The competition attracted the cream of judo players from England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland. Medal winning performances from Victoria Colhoun and Callum Nash being the icing on the cake for coaches Donna Nash and Seamus Gallagher.

Victoria Colhoun was outstanding taking Gold in the U-48kg category with a magnificent display of attacking judo that belied her tender years. The young Foyle College student won every fight by ippon along the way to the final. The final itself turned out to be a tense affair with Victoria and her Pinewood opponent ending up level at the final bell. The contest then went to "Golden Score" and with ten seconds left on the clock Victoria countered an attack with a stunning hip throw that brought the crowd to their feet and the gold medal to the ecstatic Samurai Uladh player. The large Irish support present watched with delight as Victoria ran, with tears in her eyes, into the arms of her father Keith who had travelled over to watch her.

The second medal came from the talented Callum Nash who took bronze in the U-38kg category. Callum lost his second round contest to the British number one on "Golden Score" after a fantastic display of tactical and technical judo from both players. The young Lumen Christi student picked himself up from the disappointment of this narrow defeat to go on and win a further four consecutive contests to gain his coveted bronze medal. His display here again underlined the huge potential that this young player has. He is without doubt one of the finest talents in Irish judo at the moment and is destined for great things in his future career under the guidance of his coach and mother Donna Nash.

Other notable performances came from Samurai Uladh players Micheal McCay and Kathleen McNaught who fought courageously in their U-55kg and U-63kg categories respectfully. Although they missed out on medals on this occasion they showed tremendous attacking judo that on another day with a bit of luck would have saw them on the podium. The Crana College and Moville Community College students will both take great satisfaction from their displays however and will no doubt reap rewards in the near future. The only downside to the weekend for the club was the injuries to Stephen McLaughlin and Tiarnan McGilloway who had to withdraw prematurely.

All club members are now back in full training for the upcoming Leinster Open and new members are always welcome at the club.