Year 12 student and keen Judoka, Rico, travelled to Venray in Holland on Thursday 24 November to prepare for his first international competition!
Rico has been practising Judo for 10 years, is a blue belt and forms an integral part of the GB Judo Para-Potential Team.
The Nihon Dutch Open took place on Saturday 26 November, where the GB team came away with three gold medals, four silver and two bronze! The team fought many other countries such as Croatia, Slovenia and Poland in the sport which is adaptive for different disabilities including vision impairment.
Rico was proud to come third in his weight category, and took home bronze.
He said: “I had five fights in total, three that I lost and two that I won. I even had to fight a 52 year old! It has been a great learning experience and has enabled me to learn from my mistakes.
I love Judo because it is accessible due to the tactile contact – I can do it with having a vision impairment, and so can sighted people. It makes me feel included.”
Rico is extremely ambitious with the sport, and hopes to one day get to the Paralympic games!
In addition to his success at the Nihon Dutch Open, Rico along with his Mum and Auntie also enjoyed exploring the sights in Venray.
“I thought local Dutch people had really good English and everyone was friendly. It was a busy, buzzing city!”
Well done to Rico and the rest of the GB Judo Para-Potential Team!