British Judo recently announced the fighters selected during the final stage of the European Championships selections. The championships will be hosted in Sofia, Bulgaria, from 29th April to 1st May.

During the selection, eight fighters were selected to team up with the nine selected during the first phase of selections which took place in February that was covered by Vwin’s sports platform.

In the 60kg category, Ashley McKenzie was selected and joined Sam Hall. McKenzie is a three-time Olympian and holds two European Championship bronze medals, with the most recent coming at the 2018 championship held in Tel Aviv.

On the other hand, Acelya Toprak was selected to join 7 female fighters who were chosen during stage one. Toprak’s accolades include a silver medal won at the Junior European Championships of 2017. She also enjoyed an excellent end to 2021 after winning gold at the Dubrovnik European Cup. Besides that, she won bronze at the Malaga European Open and finished fifth at the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam.

Gregg Varey will make his European Championship debut at age 33. He will take part in the 66kg category together with Alexander Short, who is also a debutant. Short is a gold medalist at the Dubrovnik European Cup in October, while Varey, a Welsh judoka, was crowned British Champion in 2021.

Daniel Powell joins the list of senior European Championship debutants. Among Powell’s achievements is winning bronze at the European under 23 championships. He also won silver at the Sarajevo European Open back in September.

Stuart McWatt was selected to join Lachlan Moorhead in the 81 kg category. McWatt managed the 7th finish at the European Games in 2019 and will make a welcome return to the GB Judo team after an injury hindered his qualification to the Tokyo Olympic Games.

Jamal Petgrave will be making his second senior appearance at the European Championships. Petgrave is a 90 kg fighter who won gold at the European U23 Championships held in Dubrovnik European Cup in October.

Another name that made the team sheet is Rhys Thompson. Thompson claimed the first GB Judo medal in 2022 after winning bronze at the Sarajevo European Open in February. He also recently made his Grand Slam debut in Antalya and will be making his European Championship debut in Sofia.

Lisa Rivers will also represent GB Judo at this year’s European Championship. Lisa was selected as a referee, and she has now been chosen to referee at the Cadet, Junior, Masters, and Senior European Championship.   

Here is the complete list of the selected fighters:

Men

60kg      Sam Hall

60kg      Ashley McKenzie

60kg      Dylan Munro (Reserve)

66kg      Gregg Varey

66kg      Alex Short

73kg      Daniel Powell

81kg      Stuart McWatt

81kg      Lachlan Moorhead

90kg      Jamal Petgrave

100kg    Rhys Thompson

Women

52kg      Chelsie Giles

57kg      Acelya Toprak

63kg      Lucy Renshall

63kg      Gemma Howell

70kg      Kelly Petersen-Pollard

70kg      Jemima Yeats-Brown

78kg      Emma Reid

Final Thoughts

The list of the 2022 European Championship fighters that will represent is now out. It is an excellent mix of experienced fighters and debutants. Therefore, British Judo fans can rest assured that this team will represent them well at the championships. What are your thoughts on the selected fighters?