Club boastsnational champions

The Sang-Rok Hedland Judo Club has returned from the National Judo Championships in Queensland with three new national champions.

The local champions are double gold medallist Tracey Marlow, Masters Middle-weight champion Marlon Baars, and Masters Heavyweight champion Daniel Zammit.

The Port Hedland team competed alongside the best in Australia at the event held between June 10 and 12 at the Gold Coast Sports and Leisure Centre.

State and club coach Daniel Zammit, who led the team of 16, said competitors trained up to six times a week in the lead-up to the event, which was a testament to their performance.

Zammit said he was very impressed with his team’s stellar performance at the titles, claiming it to be the strongest team Port Hedland had ever entered in the event.

“It is a massive credit to the kids who competed, especially for undertaking this intensive training program. Some excellent judo was on display from all of our competitors over the weekend,” he said.

“This is the biggest and most accomplished team WA have ever fielded at the national titles and it was amazing to be part of it.”

He said the results for such a remote club astonished the judo community, with Hedland’s medallists contributing 12 to the State record medal haul of 58 medals. The Sang-Rok Judo Club is approaching its fifth birthday this year and has already cemented its spot in the rich Port Hedland sporting history books.

The club is coming off the back of two consecutive years as Port Hedland’s club of the year winners.

For anyone interested in trying judo, contact the Sang-Rok Hedland Judo Club through its Facebook page.