Conway has no regrets after hanging up judogi
RIO Olympic bronze medallist Sally Conway has admitted she walks away from judo with no regrets after stunning the sport by retiring – barely five months before the Tokyo Games.
The 34-year-old from Edinburgh had been tipped to hunt a 70kg podium spot once again this summer after earning bronze at the 2019 world championships following gold at the Paris Grand Slam the previous spring.
But Conway, whose trophy haul also included bronze for Scotland at the 2014 Commonwealths in Glasgow, revealed that she arrived at an emotional decision when it felt like the re-arranged Olympics in Japan would arrive 12 months too late.
“The last time I was even on a mat training was December. But I just felt that I’d lost that desire to train and compete and I knew if that went, it was time to retire.
“If the Olympics had gone ahead last summer, I’d have been there, 100 per cent. My last competition was in Paris 12 months ago and I felt great, I was in a good place in the rankings and everything was set. My first major medal was in Rio at the age of 29, and since then, everything had gone so well.
“But I had a spell during lockdown where I couldn’t train properly in Edinburgh and it did make me think more about whether I wanted to still go to Tokyo. It would have been really tempting. But I’m quite content with looking to do something else with my life
I always try to better myself and be the best that I can be. These results never just happen
now, whether it’s coaching or helping others out.”
Conway’s heroics in Rio came against the odds after a steady climb up the rankings that peaked with a stunning Olympic run when she knocked off Austria’s Bernadette Graf to land a spot on the podium and a place in the history books. And she said: “That is something that is testament to my career: I have never given up. I always try to better myself and be the best that I can be. These results never just happen. There has been a lot of hard work behind the
scenes that has gone into achieving these performances.
“What made me so successful was having to deal with those losses earlier in my career. I have learnt so much from the low times that I was able to achieve the great performances later on. And it made those successes all the sweeter knowing the journey I have been on.”
Nigel Donohue, British Judo’s performance director, added: “In the last five years, Sally has dominated the 70kg weight category and achieved the Grand Slam of winning a European, World and Olympic medal, plus a Paris Grand Slam gold and a Commonwealth Games bronze. This is no mean feat, as the last GB athlete to achieve such a set of results was Kate Howey, over 20 years ago.
“Sally is a fantastic role model for her team-mates and all up and coming young athletes who have had the pleasure to train with her or share the same training mat as her. She is an extremely hard-working, dedicated and professional athlete who gives her best every day.”