National bronze for Rushjudo young gun Lewis

Hundreds of children travelled from across the country to take part in the premier event of the year, with Lewis hoping to have an extra reason to celebrate on his birthday.

Lewis had been preparing hard for the tournament over the past six months, including regional training during the school holidays.

He competed in Belgium just three weeks prior to the event, coming home with gold on that occasion, so he was in good form going into the competition.

True to form, Lewis’ class shone through and he blitzed his way to the semi-finals; throwing his opponents with a variety of techniques.

In the semis he fought a tough lad from Nottingham and it was a close fight with scores going to both players.

Unfortunately for Lewis, when committing himself to a big throw he was countered by his opponent and had to settle for the bronze medal.

Coach Laurie Rush said: “This was Lewis’ first national event and he is now the Great Britain number 3!

“This is an amazing achievement from a very talented young man.”

Lewis is following in his brother Michael’s footsteps as he is also in the England judo squad.

Rushjudo train on Tuesdays and Fridays and details can be found on their website at www.rushjudo.co.uk