Chelsie Giles claimed her first major title by winning European Judo gold to add to her bronze medal from Tokyo 2020 after a dramatic finish in Sofia.
Giles beat France’s world No.1 Amandine Buchard in golden time in the final after the two fighters could not be separated following the mandatory four minutes.
The 25-year-old added gold to the bronze she claimed at the European Games in 2019 and credited coach Jamie Johnson for helping her to beat Buchard for the first time after losing their three previous meetings.
Olympic 🥉
— Team GB (@TeamGB) April 29, 2022
🆕 European champion 🥇
The incredible @chelsiejudo wins a dramatic -52 final in Sofia, racking up another major medal 🙌 pic.twitter.com/thjj5OzgsZ
Giles said: “I cannot believe it. It’s so overwhelming, I think it will take a while to fully sink in.
“I have spent a lot of time studying those losses to see what I did well and where I can improve. Jamie and I worked on a plan and I am so happy it paid off today.
“I am looking forward to having some time off now and enjoy the moment before the hard work starts for the remainder of the season.”
Having received a bye in the opening round, Giles battled past Aleksandra Kaleta of Poland before beating double Olympic medallist Odette Giuffrida from Italy to make it into the semi-final.
She flew into the final after taking just 90 seconds to defeat Germany’s Mascha Ballhaus before defending well and then winning by ippon in the showpiece to land back-to-back major medals.