Leo Cox grabs judo gold

Sophie presenting Leo with his medal

Double Judo Olympian Sophie Cox better beware of being thrown by the next generation. Seven year old son Leo is beginning to show that he could follow in his mum’s judo grips, throws and hold downs.

Competing in a high quality, superbly organised development competition at Wirral Judo Club last weekend, Leo achieved his most significant success of the year.

Winning 5 of his 6 fights, he won a well deserved gold, and proud mum was on hand to present a delighted son with his medal.

“I’ll be really excited to show my medal to my schoolfriends at Belfield Community School,” beamed Leo.

“It’s early days”, said Sophie, “and the main objectives at this age are fun, participation and learning. Unlike his earlier success in the year winning silver and gold, this competition was more taxing physically and mentally.

"The judoka were divided into two pools of 5 with a crossover for the semi final. This worked to Leo’s advantage as he lost a close first fight. He then proceeded to 3 excellent ippon wins with his favourite technique, o-soto-gari (leg trip). The semi final against the strong talented winner of the other pool went to golden score. I was impressed with his guts and determination because he actually got a bit of a battering in normal contest time. But he kept wriggling out and wouldn’t give in and a powerful turnover and hold down gave him a great win. Having weathered the storm in the semi-final he was on top form in the final, with two quicksilver leg trips for an ippon victory.”

Leo is one of a talented group of youngsters who train at Bacup Judo club under the watchful eye of Sophie and a dedicated group of coaches – Sophie herself has been at Bacup since she was seven.

Sophie said: “As well as nationwide competitions, the youngsters are taken abroad to gain experience – we had a superb training camp and competition in Italy earlier in the year. In March 2033 we will be competing and training in Lithuania.”

Sophie herself is having a change of career direction with a new role in the New Year as England Talent Manager for GB Climbing. She is recognised internationally as one of British Judo’s most talented and inspirational coaches - she coached at the recent Commonwealth Games in Birmingham where England finished top of the judo medal tables.

Sophie said: “I love the personal interaction of coaching, and leaving British Judo will be a wrench but I am keen to test myself in a senior management role. The inclusion of Climbing in the Tokyo Olympics has raised the profile of the sport. Obviously medal success at the Paris Olympics in 2024 would be great but I am dedicated to establishing a successful development pathway with a talented group of coaches and that aim is for the 2032 Olympics.”