SAMURAI Judo Club were in seventh heaven after securing a haul of seven gold medals at their Rod Lane Memorial Championships.

The golden wonders were Beatrice Howarth, Kayleigh Meese, Ellis Ward-Brennan, Katherine Lloyd Jones, Benji Connor, John Connor who grabbed two top prizes.

There were silvers for Clare Hatherill and Ben Newbury, who also bagged a bronze along with Molly Maguire, Frankie Marston, and Ward-Brennan.

Howarth grabbed gold in the lightest girls weight category with five maximum point wins out of five contests, all from throws.

Maguire finished only her second competition with a bronze after three good wins in the next weight group with Pippa Harper also putting in a determined effort.

In the third group, Hatherill was in good form after defeating clubmate Marston in the semi-final. But Hatherill had to be content with silver after losing to a Wolverhampton opponent in the final, while Marston bounced back for bronze.

Meese dominated her category, winning every contest on the ground to take the gold medal before Ward-Brennan made it a hat-trick of junior golds with three maximum points wins out of three in the girls open weight.

Ward-Brennan also won a bronze with a determined performance in the senior ladies where the gold went to the superb Lloyd Jones, an established Samurai star and recent national bronze medalist. Amelia Hancocks also put in a good effort.

In the senior men's green belts and below, newcomer Stone had a good go and was unlucky to lose the play-off for the bronze medal.

In the men's higher grades, Connor was making his senior debut at the age of 15, but was giving away nearly 10 kilos at 56 kilos in the lightest weight category of under-66 kilos.

That did not bother him as he stormed through to the final with some spectacular throws, and then totally outclassed a Belgian senior brown belt, with a brilliant armlock to take the gold.

His elder brother John produced a similar show on his way to the final of the men's middleweights where he grabbed gold by just edging out Newbury.

The Connor brothers and Newbury entered the open category with John overcoming his sibling en-route to a second gold and Newbury finishing with bronze.

For details about judo or the Samurai club phone 07761 122977 or visit www.samurai.org.uk