Tuesday 17 July 2012



Ghana judo player Emmanuel Nartey¹s Olympic preparations have been boosted

by winning a medal in his final competition ahead of London 2012.

The Team Bath athlete, who also serves in the British Army, makes a piece of

history when he becomes the first Ghanaian judo player to compete at an

Olympic Games.



He warmed up for the biggest competition of his life by winning bronze at

the European Cup in Istanbul at the weekend.



Emmanuel, who is finalising his London 2012 preparations at the University

of Bath before moving to the Olympic Village on Monday (23 July), beat

Russia¹s Artur Khakhuk in the battle for the bronze medal in the men¹s

under-73kg class.



³It was my final preparation, and also a baseline to test my fitness and the

training I¹ve been doing for the last three or four months, so I was pleased

to win a medal,² he said.

³With this result I feel confident and ready for the London 2012 Olympic

Games.²

Emmanuel said he will be proud to be the first judo player to represent

Ghana at an Olympics and he hopes his performances will prove an inspiration

to other young athletes in Ghana and Africa.



³It will be a proud moment and a big achievement for me to compete at the

Olympics," he said. "It¹s not just about me, it¹s about opening doors for

future generations coming through.²



Juergen Klinger, head judo coach at the University of Bath, will also be

coaching Emmanuel at the Games.



Emmanuel is permanently based at Team Bath and is currently training

alongside two other athletes who are attending preparation camps at the

Sports Training Village ahead of the Games - Kyle Maxwell will represent

Barbados and Sled Dowabobo will compete for Nauru.



All three athletes will compete in the under-73kg class competition on

Monday 30 July.



For further information please contact the Team Bath press office at

Matchtight Ltd on 01225 383518 or by email at press@matchtight.co.uk



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