Ann Hughes

Ann Hughes (born January 21, 1960 ) is a former British judoka who was world champion in 1986 and vice world champion in 1989.

Athletic career

Ann Hughes fought from 1980 to 1985 in the light middleweight division, the weight class up to 61 kilograms. At the European Championships in Madrid in 1981 , she defeated the Italian Laura Di Toma in the final and won her first international title. Two years later she reached the final again at the 1983 European Championships in Genoa by defeating French Martine Rottier and won gold against German Gabriele Ritschel . At the European Championships in Pirmasens in 1984, she won a bronze medal. After Hughes dropped out early in 1980 and 1982 , she finished seventh at the 1984 Judo World Championships in Vienna. After a loss in the round of 16 against the Venezuelan Natasha Hernández , she was eliminated in the round of hope against Martine Rottier. At the European Championships in Landskrona in 1985, she lost to the Polish Bogusława Olechnowicz in the semi-finals , with a victory over Martine Rottier Hughes won a bronze medal.

After the European Championships in 1985, Hughes switched to lightweight, the weight class up to 56 kilograms, and thus avoided Diane Bell , who moved from lightweight to light middleweight. Ann Hughes won the Leonding and Fukuoka international tournaments in 1985. At the European Championships in London in 1986 she was defeated in the quarter-finals by French Béatrice Rodriguez , with two wins in the round of hope she reached the battle for a bronze medal, which she won against Gerda Winklbauer from Austria. Four months after the European Championships, the 1986 Commonwealth Games took place in Edinburgh . Hughes competed for England and won the title with a win over Northern Irishwoman Karen Gray . Another three months later, the 1986 World Championships took place in Maastricht . With victories over the South Korean Kim Sung-hae in the quarter-finals and the Dutch Chita Gross , Hughes reached the final and won the title against the Polish Maria Gontowicz .

In 1987 the men's and women's tournaments were held in the same event for the first time at both the European and the World Championships. At the European Championships in Paris in 1987 , Ann Hughes reached the final by defeating the Finn Riitta Rihtamo and lost there against the French Catherine Arnaud . Six months later, at the 1987 World Championships in Essen, Hughes lost to the Australian Suzanne Williams in the semi-finals , and in the battle for bronze she defeated the Chinese Liu Guizhu . At the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, competitions in women's judo were offered as a demonstration sport. At the Olympic tournament , Ann Hughes defeated Eve Trivella of the United States in her first fight . In the semifinals she was defeated by Liu Guizhu by referee decision (Yusei-gachi), the battle for a bronze medal was lost by the British against the German Regina Philips . In 1989 Ann Hughes reached the final at the World Championships in Belgrade by defeating the Canadian Nathalie Gosselin , but lost to the French Catherine Arnaud. Ann Hughes played her last major tournament at the 1990 Commonwealth Games in Auckland, winning bronze behind Loretta Doyle from Scotland and Suzanne Williams from Australia.

Web links

• Ann Hughes at JudoInside.com

Footnotes

1. ↑ Match balance at judoinside.com
2. ↑ 1986 Commonwealth Games in judoinside.com
3. ↑ Volker Kluge : Olympic Summer Games. Chronicle IV. Seoul 1988 - Atlanta 1996. Sportverlag Berlin, Berlin 2002, ISBN 3-328-00830-6 . P. 227
4. ↑ 1990 Commonwealth Games in judoinside.com