The judoka won gold in the under 73kg category in San Salvador at the Pan American Open championships at the weekend, defeating David Ancor of Canada in the final by a single penalty having already seen off three other fighters en route.
The win earned him 100 world ranking points, which has boosted Danny’s ranking to 65th from 88th. In order to qualify directly for the Olympics in Rio next summer, he must secure a world ranking of 23rd or above in his weight category.
Speaking after the event, Danny said: “Four very hard fights, four hard-fought wins. What an unbelievable day! A humongous thanks to all my supporters, 100 points closer to Rio 2016 Olympic qualification.”
Danny is studying a part-time BSc (Hons) in Sports Coaching at Anglia Ruskin. Bob Challis, Judo programme manager at Anglia Ruskin, said: “This was Danny’s best performance in a long time. He is now ranked 65th out of a group of 300 ranked players in his weight group but there is still a long way to go, he probably needs another 600 to 800 points.”
Two of Anglia Ruskin’s other judokas, Mateja Glusac and Lee Carder, have been asked to represent the Eastern region in the National Teams on 4 July. Each region in England, plus teams from Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, the Armed Forces and the police will compete to be national team champions. Mateja will fight in the under 90kg slot and Lee will fight in the +100kg category.
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For more press information please contact:
Jon Green on t: 0845 196 4717, e: jon.green@anglia.ac.uk
Jamie Forsyth on t: 0845 196 4716, e: jamie.forsyth@anglia.ac.uk
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Gold medal boosts Danny’s Olympic hopes
29 June 2015
Anglia Ruskin University student Danny Williams has added another gold medal to his collection and boosted his chances of competing in next year’s Olympic Games.