Thursday, 22 July 2010

London Olympic 2012: Luke Taylor refuses to give up


Dartford judoka Luke Taylor knows age isn’t on his side in the run up to the London Olympics but has vowed to leave no stone unturned in his bid to qualify for 2012.
Taylor, 20, gave warning of his talents in 2008, claiming Junior World Championship bronze two months after Britain returned home from the Beijing Olympics with nothing to declare.
The former Chellaston School pupil has since begun the transition from promising junior to talented senior and is recently based at the British Judo Performance Institute in Dartford.
Taylor will be 22 by the time of the London 2012 Olympics – which are two years away on July 27 and maintains his tender years won’t deter him from trying to qualify.
Taylor said, "The London Olympics will likely come a bit too soon for me, which is disappointing but I’m not going to rule anything out".
"It is only two years away and I have still got a bit of a way to go before I can lift myself up toward the top of the game.
"I’m still in the situation at the moment where I’m making the transition from being a junior to being a senior, which is always tough.
"I’m still learning about different things and if I can go to certain European events and do well then that is going to be hugely beneficial.
"It is all about the development stage because now I’m competing against guys who are stronger and more experienced than me so it can be a steep learning curve.
"London 2012 should be a fantastic event, the fact that we have the Olympics in this country will do great things for the sport."
Taylor – who is a member of the British 2012 development and senior judo squads – suffered with a back injury at the start of the year but is now fully fit.
And, with a European Cup meeting in Germany and the Heart of England Championships on the agenda in the next two months, Taylor has vowed to prove his worth.
He added: "Training has been going well. I’ve got no injuries to report so I’ve got nothing to complain about.
"I’m back from injury feeling good and would like to now go to the European Cup and look what I can do.
"Then I want to go to the Heart of England Championships and do well there because I think I’m in with a opportunity of getting a medal there."

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