Tough at the top for judo star Steph (From Swindon Advertiser)

Tough at the top for judo star Steph

1:31pm Monday 16th January 2012 in Sport

THE Swindon Advertiser would never condone failure to do homework but Steph Walker has a good excuse if she misses the deadline on a geography assignment.

Every day the Kingsdown pupil arrives home from school to spend hours training in her bid to become one of the country’s leading judo stars.

Now that dedication is paying off - and she still manages to get her homework in on time.

Walker has been selected to represent England at under 16 level in the Commonwealth Championships at Cardiff’s Millennium Centre on January 24.

The 14-year-old will make her national debut after finishing second at the English trials held at Thetford in December - the perfect way to round-off a calendar year in which she claimed gold medals at the Bedminster Open, the West of England Open, the Tora Open and a silver in the British Under 16 championships.

Walker will warm up for her Commonwealth bid when she travels to Eindhoven this weekend to compete for the West of England team in the Dutch Cup.

It amounts to a hectic schedule for the teenage judoka who treks to Bristol every Monday and Thursday to train at the nearest England performance club in Bradley Stoke, on top of her sessions at Swindon Judo Club and regular trips to Bath uni, Sheffield Institute of Sport and Dartford Judo Club for national commitments.

“It’s really difficult to fit everything in,” said Walker.

“I come home from school, spend half an hour doing my homework, have something to eat and then it’s off to training.

“I train twice a week in Bristol at Bradley Stoke Judo Club and the rest of the time I train at Swindon Judo Club.

“I have one more year with the England cadet squad and then I go up to the juniors and that’s when people start looking at things like the Olympics.”

And that’s a very realistic ambition according to her Swindon Judo Club coach Craig Curtis.

“In my 35 years of fighting and coaching you rarely come across an athlete of Steph’s talent,” said Curtis.

“She has the potential to fighting in the 2016 Olympic Games and challenging for medals.”

One of the main obstacles in Walker’s quest for glory is travelling expense as she ventures across the country for her various training session.

Anyone able to sponsor the highly-rated youngster can do so via Swindon Judo Club on 01793 834407.