Smith fighting hard to realise Olympic dream
Halifax teenager George Smith has set his sights on competing at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. Smith, who is ranked as number one junior in the British listings, has already taken great strides towards his ambition by representing England and Great Britain at recent domestic and European Judo competitions.
These have included Junior/ Senior Midlands and England squads for UK tournaments and Junior/Senior GB squad for European Championships.
Smith, who has been competing in judo competitions since the age of six, picked up a bronze medal at the Junior European Cup after claiming gold at the English Open (Junior).
Other key results this year saw Smith earn silver at the Scottish Open (Junior) and bronze at the Scottish Open (Senior)competitions.
They followed a long list of achievents in 2013 which included winning gold at the British Championships (Junior), Midland Area Heart of England (Junior), Midland Area Heart of England (Senior), Southern Area Open (Senior) and North West Open (Senior), and silver at the Great North Open (Senior) and the West of England Open (Senior).
Smith is a member of Huddersfield Judo Club, and Hardy Spicer in the Midlands. He is based at the British Judo Centre of Excellence, Walsall, on a self-funded full-time basis.
In addition to studying for the AASE, Smith’s commitment is demonstrated by his strict regime which sees him training five days a week which also includes coaching sessions, and competing on weekends whenever possible.
During his journey, Smith hopes to raise the profile of judo and, through his commitment to coaching, inspire a younger generation to follow in his footsteps.
As well as planning for Tokyo, Smith has a number of more immediate goals including representing Great Britain in the Junior World Championships and as many European competitions as possible.
Also on the horizon are: U23 Junior European and World competitions,Senior Continental Open, Grand Prix and Grand Slam medals and the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Queensland, Australia.
He would also like continue his commitment to world-class training at the British Centre of Excellence and achieve targets set by UK Sport to qualify for APA (Athlete Performance Award) level F and E funding.
So much travelling means Smith needs to find sponsor- ship and is inviting local companies to support him in his desire to attend a number of training camps throughout Europe during the summer.
Anybody who would like to like to contribute towards Smith’s goals can contact 07743 275367 for full details. There were few Classic clues on offer when Doncaster launched the flat turf season last Saturday.
Jump racing takes over again temporarily again this weekend with the Grand National, but then it will be full steam ahead on the level.
This is a racking- thebrains time of year. It seems a long time since Donny signed off with the November Handicap and just recalling last year’s winners of the five English Classics can be a struggle.
For those needing a reminder of last year’s top performers - and some pointers for this summer - Timeform has a couple of options on the reading front.
First there is the ‘ Racehorses of 2013’ annual, probably the most comprehensive record of last year’s action.
The latest 1,200-page offering is in the tradional format - an A to Z of the horses that ran last year, plus a summary of last season and statistics.
The big question, as always, is where to start? I went for Australia, thelatest “talkling horse” from Ballydoyle, who has been attracting major support from the 2,000 Guineas and Derby.
One horse tends to lead to another and the memories coming flooding back.
Find those unable or unwilling to shell out £79 for the annual, there is the Halifax firm’s “Horses To Follow” for the 2014 Flat season at £9.95.
This recommends 50 horses to follow and has plenty more good reading material, including interviews with trainers Luca Cumani and Olly Stevens.