KIDDERMINSTER ace Kate Walker underlined her status as a future Olympic star by landing double gold at last weekend's British University Games in Sheffield.
The 18-year-old former Samurai Judo Club student is part of UK Sport's development squad ahead of London 2012 and lived up to her favourite tag at Sheffield's ICE Arena by topping the podium in the individual under 63 kilogram weight group on Saturday.
And the British Champion went on to help Bath University win the coveted BUSA Team Championship on Sunday.
The first-year pharmacy student now concentrates full-time on her judo after heading to Bath and she believes her display in South Yorkshire proves she made the right choice.
"Bath is the leading university for sport and I have learnt so much in my few months with the university," she said.
"I was pretty confident I would win as I have been working on a lot of new things and the standard was below what I was used to.
"It was important to come here and do well as it is the biggest university event and helps with funding.
"I don't have enough experience to go to Beijing and Sarah Clark is the number one in my weight group. But most judo players peak by the age of 23 and I will be nearly 23 in 2012 so should be at my best."
Walker's display in Sheffield was hardly surprising considering she finished seventh at the 2006 European Junior Championships before going on to win both the junior and senior titles at the British Elite Performance Trials in December.
But despite her unquestioned talent Walker insists she still has a lot to learn.
"I haven't fought Sarah Clark yet and that will be a big experience," she added.
"I have trained with her but she wasn't at the British trials so I didn't get the opportunity.
"She will probably retire before London but if not I will keep working hard so that I am ready to compete against her."
Yorkshire Forward, the region's development agency, and Sheffield City Council's Major Sports Events Unit have attracted the British University Championships, with faces of the London 2012 Olympics set to pass through its doors.
n Walker's brother, Tom Walker, won silver at the North-West Open championships.
The Samurai fighter powered to the final but the 16-year-old lost when he was thrown by his opponent.
The result was enough to see him called up to Great Britain's World Class talent squad alongside club-mate Sarah Biles. The squad contains the top 30 fighters aged under 18-years-old.
Samurai had more success when Biles made the semi-finals, where she lost a close match to an opponent from Grimsby, but bounced back to win bronze.
Sam Woodward and Charis Hancocks also did well, finishing ninth and seventh respectively.
For details about starting judo or information about the club and its activities you can telephone 0776 1122977 or visit the Samurai website on www.samurai.org.uk
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