Australia will be looking to battle their way to a best ever Olympic performance when five of the nation’s leading judoka get ready to put judo in the spotlight in London.

Featuring a combination of youth and experience, the team will be looking to add to Australia’s current two bronze medals in the sport, after some impressive results at the recent Oceania Championships.

The team features soon-to-be four time Olympian Daniel Kelly (U/100kg), his Beijing teammate Mark Anthony (U/90kg) and Olympic debutants Ivo Dos Santos (U/66kg), Arnie Dickens (U/60kg) and Carli Renzi (U/57kg).

With three Olympic Games already under his belt, Kelly is hoping he can use his experience to his advantage as well as that of his team.

“Having been before I hope to help the younger guys in the team in their preparations in the lead up to the Games,” said the 35-year-old veteran.

“You can get pretty anxious at your first Games so I will be hoping to keep them calm so they have the best chance possible.”

Australia’s judoka have been competing in some of the world’s toughest tournaments in a bid to climb the rankings and realise their Olympic dreams.

“The team has come through a hard qualification system over the past two years that has exposed them to some strong competition.

“While it has definitely been a difficult road, the team will no doubt be better prepared to perform on the world stage at the Olympics.”

With their tickets booked and positions confirmed, the team will now solely focus on their preparations in the lead up to Olympic competition.

“We will likely compete in another competition to sharpen us up for the Games, along with some training camps in Europe or Japan that will ensure the team is ready for London.”

While having done it all before, Kelly is especially excited for London for a different reason.

“My son Erik is now seven and it will be good to have him watching as he now understands how big the Olympics are.”

Matt Bartolo
Australian Olympic Committee