Judo: Long way to Olympics for medal hope Euan Burton

EUAN Burton, arguably British judo’s best hope of a medal at the Olympics, is ready to take the long route to glory in London.

The Edinburgh 32-year-old will travel to Japan, Korea and Russia in the coming weeks to fine tune his preparations and ensure he is in peak condition when the competition starts at London’s ExCeL centre on 31 July.

Burton, twice a World Championships bronze medallist and a regular contender at major events, said: “If you’re going to stand at the top of the podium you’ve got to beat everybody that’s in front of you. People know that I can and I know I can, but I don’t think people are expecting it, because I’m not world and Olympic champion – I’ve never been European champion.

“The pressure that’s on me is from myself and the people around about me who know how much hard work I’ve put in and how much it means to me. To be a champion, you’ve got to deal with those pressures.”

Burton was speaking at JudoScotland’s HQ in Ratho, part of a disused quarry complex which also houses the world’s largest indoor climbing arena. Fear of heights has stopped him facing the climbing walls, despite the chance to enhance grip strength – crucial in judo – but Burton is far from afraid of a tough challenge on the judo mat.

Although his Olympic place is yet to be assured, Burton is set to line up in the 81 kilograms division against 31 fighters from 31 different nations in opposition. The top eight fighters will be seeded and granted a more favourable draw, but Burton, currently ranked No 12, is unconcerned as he faces five five-minute fights in his medal bid. He said: “When I’ve had my best results, it’s often been off the toughest draws. It’s one of the things I do best – I rise to the challenge at the biggest events.”

Burton will travel to Japan on Friday for a three-week training camp before a week in Korea. He will spar with leading fighters from those countries as he builds up to April’s European Championships in Chelyabinsk.

“The championships are in Siberia, so it’s a long old journey and six hours’ time difference,” Burton added. “As far as a European Championships goes it’s about as far as you can go.”