With exactly two years to go until the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games get under way, Team Bath judoka aspiring to compete in Japan have been to the home of their sport for a productive three-week training camp. Head Coach Juergen Klinger travelled to Tokyo with Rio 2016 Olympian Ben Fletcher, an ambassador for Team Bath partners MJ Church, Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games champion Megan Fletcher, Gregg Varey, Rhys Thompson and King Sporting Scholar Prica Awiti-Alcaraz,...
Team Bath judoka Ben and Megan Fletcher have been stepping up their preparations for this year’s World Championships by spending three weeks at the US Olympic Training Centre in Colorado Springs. The duo – who will compete for Ireland at September’s championships in Baku, Azerbaijan – were joined by Team Bath High Performance Coach Juergen Klinger for the altitude conditioning camp. “Colorado Springs is 2,000m above sea-level so it is excellent for altitude training,” said...
More than 2,000 people of all ages took the chance to enjoy a wide range of sports and activities as the "best Team Bath Family Fun Day yet" took place on Saturday. Free have-a-go sessions in badminton, beach volleyball, boccia, fencing, laser shooting, tennis, trampolining and more proved hugely popular, as did displays from Team Bath Rhythmic Gymnastics Club in the sports hall and Team Bath Synchro Club in the London 2012 Legacy Swimming Pool....
Team Bath judoka Ben Fletcher returned to the international podium for the third time this year when he won -100kg bronze at the Antalya Grand Prix in Turkey. The MJ Church Ambassador, coached by Juergen Klinger at the University of Bath Sports Training Village, was disappointed to have finished fifth at the previous weekend’s Tbilisi Grand Prix in Georgia. However, he put that behind him by overcoming Austria’s Aaron Fara and Danilo Pantic of Macedonia...
Olympic judoka Emmanuel Nartey believes that training in the University of Bath’s inspirational educational environment was a key factor in his completion of a PhD in International Law and Human Rights Law. Nartey, who represented his native Ghana at London 2012, has been part of Team Bath’s elite training squad for the past 14 years and has combined competing on the international stage with his career as a soldier in the Royal Tank Regiment. In...
Team Bath judoka Ben Fletcher has hailed his silver medal at the Dusseldorf Grand Slam in Germany as “probably the best result of my career”. The Rio 2016 Olympian and MJ Church ambassador was only denied the -100kg gold by Georgia’s Varlam Liparteliani, an Olympic and World silver-medallist who is currently ranked number one in the world. Fletcher had to battle through four rounds to reach the final, recording impressive victories over Temur Rakhimov of...
Student-athletes at the University of Bath won 28 medals across five different sports during a successful visit to Sheffield for the 2018 BUCS Nationals. Among the eight gold medals was a thrilling 200m title on the athletics track for Beth Close (pictured) after a storming finish. She then anchored the women’s 4x200m relay team to another tremendous victory as they retained the title for Bath. MJ Church ambassador Anna Hopkin’s 50m freestyle gold was one...
Team Bath Judo’s Ben Fletcher won the first Grand Prix gold of his career when he triumphed in Tunisia on Sunday. The MJ Church ambassador, coached by Juergen Klinger at the University of Bath Sports Training Village dojo, beat Russia’s Ramazan Malsuigenov by a waza-ari in a hard-fought final of the -100kg weight category. Rio 2016 Olympian Fletcher had earlier overcome Russia’s Askhab Kostoev, Milan Randl of Slovakia and Algeria’s Lyes Bouyacoub on his way...
Team Bath judoka won three gold, two silver and five bronze medals during a successful weekend on both the national and international stage. Rio 2016 Olympian Ben Fletcher marked his first appearance since switching his nationality to Ireland in style as he took the men’s -100kg title at the Hong Kong Asian Open. The MJ Church ambassador was in fantastic form as he beat South Korea’s Kim Nohyeon and Kim Min Sung in the quarter-final...
The University of Bath hosted an up-and-coming wave of young, talented judo players from around the South West this week ahead of a big few days of international competition for the current high-performance squad. Teenagers on the Advanced Apprenticeship in Sporting Excellence (AASE) programme took part in training sessions guided by Team Bath Head Coach Juergen Klinger and world-class judoka including Olympian Ben Fletcher and Commonwealth Champion Megan Fletcher, providing a fresh and challenging take on judo...
