Stevens times his throw to steal the show

JUDO

Philip Nicksan
Sunday 09 April 1995 23:02 BST
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JUDO

With the largest foreign entry in three decades making an impact on the British Open Championships at Birmingham on Saturday, the British fans were in desperate need of a spectacle. And it was given to them by the oldest man on the mat - the Olympic light-heavyweight silver medallist, Ray Stevens.

In three of his four preliminary rounds he clawed his way back into contention by fearsome groundwork and you could see the panic in Francisco Conca (Spain), Egon Muller (Germany) and Stephane Vasseur (France).

But in the final, against Pascal Legoux of France, he knew the crowd wanted the big throw. So did Legoux. Stevens, however, though at 31 much the older man, was clearly the master. When he unleashed his big uchimata (inner thigh throw), all 95 kilograms of the Frenchman were scooped up, turned in the air and smashed to the mat.

Results, Sporting Digest, page 31

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