Will Von Mallinkrodt, Olivia Spellman and Wade Muttit all walked away with a coveted gold medal at the National Championships in Sheffield last weekend.

Pinewood sent seven fighters to the two-day tournament which represents the pinnacle of the domestic judo season in this country.

The opening day saw cadets Declan Whyte (Under 42kg), Von Mallinkrodt (U73) and Charlie Howell (U73) in action.

Whyte opened Pinewood’s account with a solid performance that took him to the final.

After a tough and close battle, Whyte was forced to accept the silver after an impressive display.

Von Mallinkrodt kept the Pinewood momentum going with a brilliant display of judo.

He started the day as he continued with a huge Ippon (10 point throw) in his first fight.

Displaying his usual style, Von Mallinkrodt dismissed each successive opponent in turn to reach the final which he won in less than a minute, scoring another Ippon which is the equivalent of a knockout in boxing.

His victory in the final also maintained Pinewood’s incredible unbroken record of producing a British Champion every year since 1969, a trend started by the club’s late sensei, Don Werner, and continued by current sensei, Mark Fricker.

And there was plenty more success to follow for Pinewood to celebrate in Sheffield.

On day two, pre-cadet Muttit was faced with the tough task of competing in a higher weight group at U34.

He took to this with great focus and sharp performances that saw him reach the final.

In a nailbiting contest, Muttit’s concentration was spot on and there was no separating him from his opponent, who were level on points at the end of normal time.

That sent the fight into ‘golden score’ extra time and it went in Muttit’s favour by a penalty awarded against his opponent.

Muttit’s gold medal was his third successive British title.

Meanwhile, Kiera Bateman (U48) showed guts and determination to sweep her way through to the final.

She made one, small mistake which was punished by her capable opponent and was forced to settle for silver.

Holly Eccles was also competing at U48 and had a good day, but was ultimately disappointed losing in a fight for bronze.

However, Olivia Spellman continued her steady improvements and her extra training paid off as she put in a superb performance to reach the final at U63.

Spellman rose to the occasion and clinched the gold medal in emphatic style with a sharp, arm lock to secure the British title.

Finally, Charlie Howell also entered the tournament to gain valuable experience of high-level competition and fought well throughout.

In all, Pinewood sent seven fighters to Sheffield, reached five finals and returned with three British Champions after another memorable weekend for the club.

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