MEDAL JOY FOR UK JUDO ACE

Medal joy for UK judo ace
01 June 2006
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Peter Cousins A HARLOW sportsman fought his way to the bronze medal in Judo's European championship on Friday.Peter Cousins, 25, of Passmores, picked up his medal in the -100kg weight category at the event in Tampere, Finland. To win his medal Peter had to defeat reigning Olympic champion Ihar Makarau, of Belarus.The win for the former Junior European Champion came in the weight category above his usual -90kg.
Peter Cousins in action Back home Peter spoke to The Herald about his medal win. He said: "I am still very sore and have a few grazes to my face from the mats - but the whole event was completely exhilarating."It was very hard work, even more so than usual, because I wasn't in my right weight group after being out for three months. But I was just grateful to be back fighting after such a long time out through injury."It is such a pleasure to represent your country and when you see your flag on the rostrum, it is just amazing. It is great to think that I was a good representative for my country."Always a budding martial artist, Peter began studying judo when he was five years old, after attending karate classes for a little while. "My twin, Thomas, was going to judo classes that whole time, so I decided that I wanted to join him. My four sisters and two brothers were always into martial arts too - so it just felt natural for me to follow in their foot steps," he said.When asked how he felt about beating the reigning Olympic champion, Peter explained the best way to win big fights is to just forget about it."I never think about whom I am fighting - I treat each fight just like the next," he said. "When I heard that I was fighting the Olympic champion for the bronze I was a bit scared - but I just pretended that I hadn't heard that and got on with it. I just tried to block out that he was a champion. "Everyone you now fight in Europe is of such a high standard you can't ever think you are better. It is wonderful that everyone is so good at their sport." Peter and his twin brother Thomas, who also represents Great Britain in judo, have both been shortlisted for the Beijing Olympics in 2008. "It is my dream to win a medal at the Olympics for my country," said Peter. "I just hope that I get there." Colin McIver, British judo performance director said: "It was the best performance by a British team at a European Championships in 10 years. It saw great performances from the British team, not only from those who medalled, but across the entire squad."We must now concentrate on building on this success as we go forward into next year for the Olympic qualification for Beijing.