Teen judo star strikes silver for third time

A RIPON Grammar School rising martial arts star who won silver for the third time at major British championships has been selected for the national judo training squad.

Jack Deniz’s latest nail-biting win at the British Judo Championships in Nottingham had spectators on the edge of their seats as the match went into a prolonged period of extra time, during which he narrowly missed out on gold.

The 13-year-old, who beat some of his fiercest rivals in the run-up to the final, where he was up against around 25 elite athletes from all over the UK, said: “I was unfortunate to lose by the smallest score, I was thrilled though.”

Jack, who was crowned British Schools judo champion last year, now trains with the England squad once a month in Walsall, Birmingham.

The teenager, who lives outside Harrogate, hopes to be selected to represent Team GB at international competitions in Belgium and the Netherlands in the coming months.

The keen rugby and hockey player first took up judo when he was just six years old and trains twice a week at Pudsey Judo Club, where his coach is British Judo vice-president Neil Fletcher.

Following in the footsteps of his older brother, Tom, ranked Britain’s number one U18 judo star last year, Jack says his ambitions are to get his black belt and represent Team GB in judo at the European Championships.

His 11-year-old sister Lizzie, also a student at RGS, is continuing the family tradition, having won bronze in her category at the British Championships in August.