Sam Ingram wins second GB European judo gold

[dutchman]

Sam Ingram won Britain's second gold medal at the visually impaired European Championships in Crawley.


Ingram (second left) celebrates with his fellow medallists

The 26-year-old Coventry judoka, who won bronze at the Beijing Paralympics and silver at last year's Worlds, triumphed in the under-90kg category.

He beat France's Olivier Cugnon in a thrilling final for his first major international title.

Ingram's win follows Brighton's Ben Quilter's victory in the under-60kg category on Friday.

Quilter forced Russian opponent Artem Merkulov into submission in two-and-a-half minutes.

The 30-year-old is also reigning world champion after winning gold at the World Championships last year.

Ingram beat reigning Paralympic champion Oleg Kretsul of Russia in the semi-finals by ippon before his victory in the final.

"I've been chasing top spot for a long time, it was ideal getting to fight the Russian Kretsul and Frenchman Cugnon," he said.

"The team has managed to gel quickly, we've got a good mix of younger and older judoka and it's been a good weekend for us."