Sam Malkinson
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Sport: Judo Age: 16 Club: Rainham Judo Club Key achievements:
Sporting ambitions:
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Sam won his black belt (First Dan) in the summer of 2008.
He had to go through the gruelling process of fighting five players and winning all fights by Ippon. Ippon is the term given to winning the fight outright, either by throwing the other player on his back or by using a hold to make him submit.
Having successfully won his first two fights with throws, Sam had to face a line-up of another three players, fighting them one after the other.
Sam won the first of these three fights with an effective hold and the other two with throws. Sam used different throws in all of his fights and demonstrated the versatility and range of his judo.
Winning the black belt was the culmination 13 years' hard work, after taking up judo at the age of three. Sam has come a long way in his sporting career and now represents England and Great Britain.
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At the age of 14, Sam became the 2006 British National Schools' Champion after winning the British Schools’ Judo Association (BSJA) National Individual Championships held in Bath. Sam continued to build on these results in 2006/2007, finishing seventh at the Heart of England national ranking event and third at the British National Championships. This pushed Sam's British ranking up to fifth in his age and (under 60kg) weight category. This resulted in his selection as a member of the British National World Class Start Squad. A bronze medal at the Midland Area age-banded championships and a fifth place finish in the North West area ranking event led to Sam’s selection as one of four judoka selected to represent England at the Youth Olympic trials in Sheffield. Unfortunately, Sam was forced to withdraw from this event in the early phases due to a knee injury. |
After recovering, Sam was selected to represent England in an international judo tournament in Coimbra, Portugal and to attend a European training camp held there too.
During 2008 Sam has continued to progress after a strong finish at the 2007 Heart of England Championships which guaranteed his British squad selection.
His hard work in training was rewarded when he won his black belt.
Sam’s immediate goals are to win a medal at next year's national championships and to maintain his position within the national squad. In the longer term, he hopes to represent Great Britain at senior level events, including World and Olympic Championships.
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