Rachel Wilding (born 18 July 1976 in Woking, Surrey, England) is an English judoka, who competed in the women's half-heavyweight category.[1] She picked up a total of thirty-one medals in her career, and represented Great Britain in the 78-kg class at the 2004 Summer Olympics. Throughout most of her sporting career, Wilding trained for the Camberley Judo Club in Camberley under her personal coach and sensei Mark Earle.[2][3]

Rachel Wilding
Personal information
NationalityBritish (English)
Born (1976-07-18) 18 July 1976 (age 48)
Woking, Surrey, England
OccupationJudoka
Height1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Sport
CountryGreat Britain
SportJudo
Weight class–70 kg, –78 kg
ClubCamberley Judo Club
Achievements and titles
Olympic Games9th (2004)
World Champ.7th (2005)
European Champ.Silver (2005)
Medal record
Women's judo
Representing  Great Britain
European Championships
Silver medal – second place 2005 Rotterdam –78 kg
Profile at external databases
IJF53021
JudoInside.com6577
Updated on 17 November 2022

Judo career

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Wilding was a three times champion of Great Britain, winning the middleweight division at the British Judo Championships in 2000 and the half-heavyweight title in 2002 and 2004.[4]

Wilding qualified for Team GB in the women's half-heavyweight class (78 kg) at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, by securing a place and a victory from the British judo trials in Wolverhampton.[5][6] She opened her prelim match by throwing Spain's Esther San Miguel into the tatami on a brilliant ippon and an ura nage (rear throw) with only 25 seconds left in the clock, before falling short to Ukraine's Anastasiia Matrosova in the quarterfinals with a more robust tactic.[7] Wilding gave herself a chance for an Olympic medal in the repechage round, but wasted her charm with a tough defeat from South Korea's Lee So-yeon.[8][9]

At the 2005 European Judo Championships in Rotterdam, Netherlands, Wilding recorded her career best to pick up a silver medal in the 78-kg division, losing out to neighboring France's Céline Lebrun in the final.[10][11]

References

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  1. ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Rachel Wilding". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 21 November 2014.
  2. ^ "Judo - Bryants leads World assault". Get Hampshire. 4 August 2005. Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 21 November 2014.
  3. ^ Hubbard, Alan (1 August 2004). "Bryant gets heavy with the China syndrome". The Independent. Retrieved 21 November 2014.
  4. ^ "British Judo Championship Results 2003 to present". British Judo. Retrieved 21 August 2022.
  5. ^ Langley, Russell (17 May 2004). "Judo players claim eight Olympic spots". UK Sport. Retrieved 21 November 2014.
  6. ^ "Britain names judo team". BBC Sport. 20 May 2004. Retrieved 21 November 2014.
  7. ^ "Wilding downed in quarters". BBC Sport. 19 August 2004. Retrieved 21 November 2014.
  8. ^ "Judo: Women's Half-Heavyweight (78kg/172 lbs) Repechage Round 3". Athens 2004. BBC Sport. 15 August 2004. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
  9. ^ Deedes, Henry (19 August 2004). "Olympic Digest: Judo". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 21 November 2014.
  10. ^ Taylor, Lee (23 May 2005). "Bryant claims fourth European Crown". UK Sport. Retrieved 21 November 2014.
  11. ^ "Bryant wins European judo title". BBC Sport. 23 May 2005. Retrieved 21 November 2014.
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