Judo Australia Pathway athletes Jordon Greenbank (Uni WA Judo Club) and Annaliese Fielder (Shogun Hill Qld) have kicked off day one at the Junior World Championships in Portugal with strong performances.
The determination was clear to see with Annaliese becoming one of a handful Australians to place 7th at a World Championships along with training partner Abigail Pudich who achieved the same result in 2019. Her first appearance in a World Championship Qtr final in a new weight division was something to be proud of.
Fielder, a full time member of the National Performance Centre in Melbourne moved to the U48 kilo (prev -52kg) in July 2023, and GM of Pathways and Performance for Judo Australia is pleased with her progress.
'Dropping down a division takes hard work and enormous dedication. Annaliese uses every resource available to her at the NPC, CombatAus Coaching staff and VIS resources. She is well suited to the lighter division and will only grow stronger from the experience. She was also featured on international social pages overnight for her strong throws'.
Jordon Greenbank continues along a path of growth and success with a top 16 finish off the back of his gold at the Pan-American Championships last month, losing only to the newly crowned World Champion from Japan. He fought in a measured and controlled manner with a great upside also being Senior WRL points as he moves up next year.
'Losing to an eventual World Champion is not failure. Jordon is showing all the right signs and works hard to get these results each and every day. The loss is something we will keep in perspective and continue to work with him on a local level in his home club of Uni WA' said Maria.
Day 2 starts at 7pm AEST - 4PM WST with Saya Middleton and Ryley Rametta taking to the mat, and the return of Danny Vojnikovich to the international stage tomorrow.
For further information please contact
Beck Hamilton - CEO
bhamilton@ausjudo.com.au