Shropshire’s rising judo stars have proved themselves amongst the cream of Europe after shining on the international stage.
Telford pair Kelly Edwards and Gemma Howell both won bronze medals at the European Junior Championship in the Polish capital of Warsaw.
Kelly had a good start to her campaign, beating Kristyna Sedivakova of the Czech Republic, but lost in her next match to Derya Cilbil of Turkey, taking her straight in the repechage.
She defeated Shira Rishony of Israel and Ioana Matei of Romania to make the bronze medal match where the Brit beat Switzerland’s Juliette Staedler on points.
“I’m so happy,” said Kelly. “This is definitely the biggest competition I have ever done and this bronze is a personal best for me.”
Gemma’s passage to a medal in the under 57kgs category followed an almost identical route.
She saw off Bulgaria’s Ivelina Ilieva for starters but lost out to Tjada Ketis, of Slovenia, in her second contest.
The repechage campaign began with a victory over Russia’s Yulia Ryzhova and continued with a success over Eva Koubkova of the Czech Republic.
A win over Poland’s Agata Perenc set up a medal play-off, and Howell secured the bronze with victory over Lyudmyla Marchenko.
By James Garrison
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