Judo: Clark set to throw herself into Olympic push after silver success in Paris

Sarah Clark, the 24-year-old Scottish light-middleweight, was a late entrant to the Tournoi de Paris, one of the toughest events on the judo circuit, but she justified her selection with a surprise silver medal, her first success on the international stage.

Only the greater experience of Lucie Decosse, the French 2002 European champion, prevented Clark winning gold.

Clark has lived under the shadow of the former European silver medallist Karen Roberts, but in Paris she showed she has greater range. She threw her first opponent, Anna Alexandrova, of Russia, and threw and then armlocked Emmanuelle Payet, of France.

The next two, Africa Gutierrez, of Spain, and France's Marie Pasquet, were also thrown. The silver medal gives Clark 50 points toward Olympic qualification and means she will now tour the 'A' Tournaments to gain sufficient points to ensure she goes to Athens.

The second British medal of the weekend came from Georgina Singleton, the 2002 European featherweight champion who has already qualified for Athens. The 27-year-old produced a bronze, beaten only by Xian Dongmei, of China.