Paris Grand Slam champion Conway headlines Britain's European Judo Championships squad
BySportsbeat
Published 28/02/2018 at 18:01 GMT
Rio 2016 bronze medallist and Paris Grand Slam champion Sally Conway is one of eight British judoka selected for April's European Championships in Tel Aviv.
Eurosport
Image credit: Eurosport
Last year's world bronze medallists Nekoda Smythe-Davis and Natalie Powell will also travel to Israel as part of a strong British squad, with each of the eight earning a Grand Prix or Grand Slam medal in the past year.
That includes under 60kg figether Ashley McKenzie, a man with a medal in every competition bar two since his Olympic outing 18 months ago, and multiple Grand Prix medallist Sarah Adlington, competing in the over 78kg category.
Alice Schlesinger (under 63kg), who joined Powell on the European podium last year, also gets the nod, with performance director Nigel Donohue delighted at the talent set to compete from April 26-28.
"The fact that we've got such a strong team already after the first round of selections is testament to the performances of this group of judoka, who have performed consistently over the last year," he said.
"They have medalled at some of the toughest competitions in the world over the last 12 months, including the World Championships and the Paris Grand Slam.
"There is still a month's worth of competitions before the final round of selections at the start of April and we're looking forward to seeing how our GB judoka perform at some high-class tournaments."
Under 70kg fighter Conway in particular has enjoyed an impressive start to 2018, becoming only the sixth British judoka to win the Paris Grand Slam and the first since Craig Fallon in 2003.
It was in France where she was joined on the podium by Smythe-Davis (under 57kg), who took bronze, just two weeks before securing her first Grand Slam title in Dusseldorf.
And the British talent continues, with Powell, who became the first British female judoka to top the world rankings last year, included.
At the other end of the spectrum is Lucy Renshall, set to make her European Championship debut at the under 63kg level, while under 70kg fighter Gemma Howell returns to the competition for the first time in three years.
The second stage of selection for the European Championships will follow the Tbilisi Grand Prix, set to take place at the end of March and beginning of April.
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