Elusive major medals the driving force behind Britain's best judoka

Two of Great Britain’s best-ever judoka are bugged by a missing piece.

Chelsie Giles won Olympic bronze in Tokyo and then became her country’s first European champion since 2006 - all inside a year.

But she has only ever placed at one World Championships, seventh at -52kg in 2019.

That glaring omission on her CV means Giles has a clear motivation heading into this week’s global gathering in Tashkent.

She said: "I'm feeling really strong and feeling good and looking forward to bringing back medals for the team.

"A few years ago I came close to medals so bringing one back this time would be great.

"I enjoyed the whole Olympics experience, not just getting the medal but being in the whole environment.

"To be able to bring that back during a time when people had been locked away for so long then that was a joy.

"We could get together and celebrate something good that had happened.

"I'll be looking for that same feeling at Worlds to deliver on the day.

"I'm looking forward to fighting because I haven't stepped onto the mat in a while."

On the opposite end of the spectrum is Natalie Powell.

The Welsh star took -78kg bronze at the 2017 World Championships, owns three European medals and has won a stack of World Tour gongs - eight in Grand Slams and 21 Grand Prix.

"I've got really fond memories from 2017," said the 31-year-old.

"I had a lot of really important people in my life who were there to see it as well.

"I know that if I perform to the best of my abilities then I can be on the podium so I'm focusing on the process and letting the rest take care of itself.”

The only gap in Powell’s palmares is the big one, an Olympic medal. She hopes to have one more crack at Paris 2024 before retiring.

She said: "That Olympic medal is the one that's eluded me so that's the one that I would really like to add to my collection.

"It's still two years away to get another shot at that and at the point I'm at in my career now, I'm trying not to look too far ahead at the moment.

"I'm really looking forward to the next two years, starting to do a few things outside of judo so that when I transition after Paris, I'm ready to move into the coaching world or something different."

Powell became the first British female judoka to reach number one in the world in 2017.

The second, Lucy Renshall, is among the medal favourites at -63kg after a stunning run of form post-Olympic debut.

Since Tokyo she has won three Grand Slam golds at Antalya, Abu Dhabi and Baku and silver at the Paris Grand Slam, one of the landmark events in the sport.

She will hope to make hay in the absence of five-time world champion Clarisse Agbegnenou of France, one of the sport's dominant forces, who is taking time off after giving birth to her first child.

Britain are particularly strong in the women's -63kg category where Renshall is joined by Gemma Howell, crowned European champion in April.

Sportsbeat 2022