Judo: Kingston's optimistic approach
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.AN AIR of assurance surrounds Nicola Fairbrother, the 22-year- old Olympic lightweight silver medallist, as she prepares to defend her European title in Athens this week. But for Danny Kingston, the 19-year-old lightweight who had a spectacular victory at the British Open, the approach is quite different.
They are two of the leading medal prospects as the new coaching team of Neil Adams and Mark Earle set out on the Olympic trail, their eyes partly focused on Athens and partly on 1996 and Atlanta.
In her job as a sports journalist, Fairbrother has interviewed enough leading sportsmen and women to know the dangers of being at the top, with complacency at the head of the list.
'I have spent the first three months of this year working on new throwing ideas, and they really paid off when I won the British Open,' she explained.
The influence of Adams and Earle, both in their early 30s, is keenly felt by competitors like Kingston and the bantamweight Nigel Donohue, not least because the coaches are still at peak fitness and teach by example.
Adams and Earle represent the new broom in British judo, and need a positive result in Athens. The women's team should be able to live on past strengths, but the men hope for a tangible result from fighters such as Kingston and Donohue.
The event starts today with two days of preliminary rounds followed by two days of finals.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments