By Sarah Dyce
On the final day of competition in Glasgow, judo closed out the Australians’ campaign with Maria Swan (women’s -78kg) and Kayhan Ozcicek-Takagi (men’s +100kg) both on the mat.
The world number 14 announced herself early in Sunday’s -78kg final, catching reigning champion Emma Reid off guard with a sharp yuko inside the first minute. It was the kind of start that had the SEC Centre crowd on its feet, and a signal of the judoka Swan is becoming on the international stage.
Reid, for her part, had to work for every inch of her title defence. Swan had already come through a bruising quarter-final against Kenya’s Zeddy Cherotich and a tight semi-final win over Canada’s Coralie Godbout before reaching the final, and she brought all of that battle-hardened composure into the bout.
Just past the three-minute mark, the Birmingham 2022 champion produced the throw that sealed ippon, a class finish from a class competitor, and enough to secure Reid’s second straight Commonwealth crown in the division.
For Swan, silver is no consolation prize. It’s her first major international medal, won on Commonwealth Games debut, against some of the best in the world in her category. Few Australian judoka arrive on this stage and leave with silver first time out.
It’s the kind of result that tends to be the start of something, not the end of it.
“I’m really happy with my performance,” Swan said.
“I really gave it everything and Emma is such a strong opponent. It’s really promising. I’m going in the right direction and I’m happy with how I fought.”
The crowd roared her forward with chants of “Aussie, Aussie, Aussie” through the contest. But one voice cut through above the rest.
“My parents came over from Perth and that meant a lot to me,” Swan said.
“I think in one of the exchanges, for a brief second, I heard my mum say, ‘go Maria’ and then I had to lock back in.”
She’s already thinking beyond Glasgow.
“I worked really hard for it and I know the guys back in Australia were all watching me, and I hope it can motivate all the younger ones to know that they can do it,” Swan said.
To round out the competition for the Games, Ozcicek-Takagi squared up against Cyprus’s Giannis Antoniou. Ranked 24 and 30 in the world going into competition, the pair played the ultimate game of cat and mouse on the mat, but just shy of the four-minute mark, Ozcicek-Takagi was defeated. Still claiming an impressive silver, the returning Birmingham athlete was pleased with his performance.
“I’m so happy,” Ozcicek-Takagi said.
“It was a big competition, it’s my first medal. I’m very proud.”
That wraps up Judo’s Glasgow campaign. The team walks away with seven medals, five silver and two bronze, and on this evidence, a squad with its best still ahead of it.
