Continental Open events tend to vary greatly with the level of athletes, whether it be a young junior or even mature cadet testing the waters of the senior pool or returning major names to reignite their careers in hope of a return to the big league.
Used to success as a junior athlete, 22 year-old Kelly Pollard (GBR) has made her way on to the senior circuit and comfortably found her place at the top in the -70kg category.
In 2019 she became the Junior European champion and was consistently taking gold medals in the junior cup events. This is now her second senior European Open win following Odivelas in 2020 and it is simply great to see her back and enjoying the competition again.
Petersen Pollard’s positive attitude is always refreshing to see, always on the attack, even when playing with a tactical approach, which continued all the way to her final contest against team mate, Grand Prix medallist Katie-Jemima Yeats-Brown.
I’m very happy with my performance, my preparation leading into this next competition block has been as good as can be in these times, going into the final against a team mate is always hard but was a great fight and great to have two British in the final! Looking forward to fighting in Zagreb and continuing to make my way up the world ranking.
Source: www.eju.net
Image: facebook.com/britishjudo
