Lucy Renshall realised her lifelong dream of competing at the Olympics in Tokyo over three years ago, but the Walsall-based judoka will be looking to go one step further in Paris this summer. It’s been 20 years since Renshall first embarked on her judo journey aged just eight, but the Olympic dream was at the forefront of her mind from an even earlier age. That lifelong prophecy was fulfilled when Renshall jetted off to Tokyo in 2021, although her Olympic debut ended in cruel fashion as she was eliminated by Japan’s Miku Tashiro in the opening round.
The former world number one, who missed the 2022 Commonwealth Games due to injury, feels she will be stronger for that experience ahead of her second games in the French capital. “When I first started judo, or even before then, I always had a goal of going to the Olympics. I was a very sporty child and that was always my lifelong goal,” Renshall revealed.
“The experience I gained will be really important because going into your first Olympic games, it’s nerve racking because you’ve never done it before and it’s different. “As much as the competition is with the same people, it’s the Olympic games so it is big. So I think I’ve done that now, I’ve had that experience so going into Paris, I am more confident and focused on competing now.
” Renshall will also be able to share the experience with her family this summer after they were unable to join her in Japan due to Covid-19 restrictions. For that reason, R.
