Golden success for judo brothers

Both boys have been training hard, with Connor fortunate enough to be working with current Great Britain number three James Draper.

Connor secured gold at the Western Area Open after eliminating three fine opponents, before defeating a current Sussex county squad member in the final with a sublime ippon throw.

The following week, younger brother Josh headed to High Wycombe for the orange and under age banded championships. One of the youngest and lowest grade, Josh wasted no time in fighting his way to the final, where an ippon throw in eight seconds saw him land gold.

Both boys then headed to Norfolk for the Eastern Area Open. Josh secured gold in record time, with two ippon wins in under ten seconds.

Connor gave his strongest performance of the year, as three strong ippon victories took him to the final.

Another classy performance followed as he beat the Sussex county champion with an ippon from an advanced counter move inside 30 seconds

Connor now has 12 gold medals for the year and Josh has eight since returning from a broken arm.

Josh is now preparing for the British National Championships in Kidderminster in October, which is the biggest event in England for players of his age group.