Ceri Griffiths with his British gold medal.

At the recently held British National under 21 championships, Ceri Griffiths from Carmarthen Judo Club became British Champion at the over 95 kilograms category.

These will be the last championships at Crystal Palace until the present complex had been demolished and rebuilt.

The British Judo Association are unable to recall another Welshman winning this particular title.

Ceri is a final year Sports Science student at the University of Brighton and had to win through some early competitions to have a place at these championships.

This competition attracted the best 500 under 21 competitors from all over Britain.

All these competitors also had to win preliminary competitions to represent an English area, Scotland, Northern Ireland or Wales.

The first rounds of the competition Ceri fought in the toughest pool, having to compete against second Dan black belts (Ceri is a first Dan).

In the first round he came up against the Scottish Champion who was some two stone heavier then him. This weight disparity made a difference but Ceri threw the Scots number one with a winning technique scoring the maximum ten points or Ippon.

In the next fight Ceri, at 16 stone (103 kilograms) came up against last year’s silver medallist and current British Squad member from the Midlands who weighed in as a massive twenty and a half stone.

The fight proved a test of stamina, as well as skill, for Ceri. The Midlands representative used his weight to good advantage, but Ceri proved more than a match for this massive opponent when he caught him with a backwards throw, again scoring the maximum Ippon.

The initial rounds proved tough but Ceri reached the semi-final without having to complete a full four-minute contest.

In the semi-final he was drawn against the North West champion, but his reputation mean nothing; Ceri stopped the fight within ten seconds, throwing his opponents for Ippon.

The scene was set for a titanic final with the huge Midlands representative, ranked amongst the top ten senior competitors in Britain, winning through and looking to avenge his earlier defeat.

Indeed the final was an epic struggle but Ceri showed exceptional skill when he again stopped the giant Midlands champions in three and a half minutes.

There was a roar of appreciation from a knowledgeable audience with Ceri clinching his first British title.

He was presented with his medal by Mr Seth Birch, chairman of the British Judo Association. He has now been asked to register as a British Squad member to train with them at High Wycombe.

Ceri paid tribute to his initial training at Carmarthen and the support of his family. He has been sponsored locally by MEG Marketing of Carmarthen and RBN Reinforcements Ltd., of Neath.

Carmarthen clubs coaches praised Ceri’s achievement and dedication saying: “Carmarthen Judo Club has an excellent system of preparing youngsters for whatever level they wish or are able to achieve.

“This win has given everyone in the club a boost and it is a marvellous precursor to out new club being officially opened in the New Year.

“We are training at the facility in Old Llangunnor Road at the moment but in the New Year we will be able to offer the facilities to other clubs in the area.”

Ceri said his next major ambition was to represent Brighton University at the British Universities Championships in March, in addition to gaining his degree in 1998. If successful he would wish to represent the British Universities on the European and World Stage.

He said: “I hope this win will enable me to gain further honours but I feel my education must come first which is also the thinking of my current coach at Haywards Heath, Sussex.

“I have always found judo to be an excellent way of keeping fit whilst also having a competitive edge, if you are that way inclined.”

In addition to his British title, Ceri has represented Wales internationally and is the current Sussex County and Southern England Champion.