Methwold students receive an Olympian masterclass

Students from the Happidojo Judo Club received a masterclass from two Olympic medallists.

Scottish national performance coach Euan Burton, MBE, and his wife Gemma Gibbons-Burton put members through their paces at the coach revalidation event which was organised by the British Judo Association.

Olympian Euan, a multiple world and European medallist who won gold at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, led the sessions with Gemma, who scooped a silver medal at the London Olympics of 2012.

The day was a huge success with the first class aimed at under-8s followed by another class for youngsters aged between 8 and 14.

All of the children enjoyed the session and were left mesmerised by the fact that they had Double Olympians in their midst.

After each session, the pair handed out gifts, answered youngsters' questions, and posed for photos, along with signing their judo belts.

Euan then delivered a high-performance technical session, aimed at advanced juniors and seniors. This was well attended with 38 junior/seniors on the mat along with 26 coaches.

Head coach Colin McCallum (UKCC Level 3 elite coach) remarked how pleased he was with the sessions.

Mc Callum said: “The technical content was not only superb, but the feedback from everyone on the sessions was amazing. Everyone remarked that it had been one of the best masterclasses they had ever attended.”

For more information on Happidojo Judo Club, please call 07905 278857 or visit: www.happidojo.co.uk