Telford judo star Gemma Howell weighs in for bronze at Antalya Grand Prix
Telford judoka Gemma Howell marked her first Grand Prix at the under 70kg weight category with a superb bronze medal at the Antalya Grand Prix in Turkey.
The 26-year-old, who missed last summer’s Olympic Games in Rio after rupturing the medial collateral ligament in her right knee, moved up to the under 70kg class and stormed to third-place in the event. She took bronze with a win over Szabina Gercsak of Hungary.
Howell, who fights for Wolverhampton Judo Club, claimed bronze from a European Open event in Austria in February.
She also won junior World and European bronze at under 57kg before moving up to under 63kg, where she fought in the 2012 Olympics, the European and British Championships.
Aside from an excellent silver medal at -63kg in Tbilisi last year, Howell has had success in her latest weight class at the Belgian Ladies Open and European Cup London.
A tweet, which included praise to British judo performance coach Matt Purssey, said: “Really happy to get bronze in my first Grand Prix at under 70kg – thanks Matt Purssey for being sensei.”
