A year has now passed since Gemma Gibbons claimed Olympic silver at London 2012 and she believes tapping into that achievement can help her claim a world medal this month.
Gibbons became Britain’s first Olympic judo medallist since Sydney 2000 at London 2012, where she won silver in the -78kg category despite suffering a broken thumb.
She spent four months off the mat nursing the injury but bounced back to claim the -78kg title at British Championships in January and win the Dusseldorf Grand Prix in February.
However another setback arrived in March as the 26-year-old broke her wrist in the gym and was forced to sit out the European Championships in Hungary in April.
And, despite the less than ideal preparations for the World Championships, which run from August 26 to September 1 in Brazil, Gibbons remains confident a year on from her Olympic success.
“I am not feeling in top form, that’s for sure,” said Gibbons, who won bronze at last month’s Moscow Grand Slam.
“It’s not ideal going into a World Championships having been out for eight to ten months but I know that I have got the judo in me and the fight. You just hope on the day you can deliver.
“You never go into a championship if you are not going in there to win. Most of all I want to put in a good performance. If I can come out with a medal, that would be brilliant.
“I can’t believe it’s a year since London. Winning the medal started it all off, then I got married this year which was the biggest highlight for me.
“And I followed that with winning my first Grand Prix medal and my first major Grand Slam event. It’s been eventful.”
The World Championships take place in none other than the host city for the next Olympic Games in 2016, Rio de Janeiro, however Gibbons doesn’t know how beneficial the trip will prove in the future.
“It will be really nice to go out to Brazil,” added Gibbons. “I don’t know whether we will be getting a chance to look at the facilities for the Olympics.
“But it will be great to see how we cope with the time difference and the food. It will mean that we will be a lot better prepared.
“Qualification for the Olympics does not start until next year. At the minute the judo world is looking to compete to get the most points to put them in a good position for qualification.”
© Sportsbeat 2013