East Yorkshire Judo’s Tommy Jackson took home a bronze medal in the senior male -73kg category at the English Open, which took place between 21st and 22nd February.

The bronze medal is the Hull-born fighter’s second of the year so far as he continues to impress in Great Britain’s senior squad after progressing from their U18s and U21s squads.

He picked up the bronze medal at the English Open alongside Camberley’s Harry Le Mare, whilst fellow British Judo Senior squad member Joshua Chrisp defeated Estonia’s Oscar Pertelson to win the gold medal.

On competing at the English Open, Jackson said: “I was disappointed not to get the gold; in that field I would have liked to come away with the gold, but I made a small mistake in the semi-final and it cost me, so I was happy to get the bronze medal and come away with something.”

“The points keep me in sixth position, in the top six in Great Britain, which is good and means that I’m qualified to fight abroad and things like that. So it was good, but it’s just about maintaining that top six standard.”

Jackson sits in sixth in the under 73kg category of British Judo’s Senior Rankings after he gained 75 points at not only the English Open but also at the Scottish Open Tournament, at which he also won a bronze medal, in January earlier this year.

Between both the Scottish and English Opens, Jackson also competed at the Ljubljana European Open 2026, in which he lost his Pool A fight against Germany’s Vincent Wieneke.

On his performances so far this year at back-to-back tournaments, Jackson said: “I’ve started the year strong, and I’ve got a few medals. I didn’t medal in the European Open, but I’m only in my second year as a senior, so I’m still progressing at the minute, and I gained some valuable experience, and it was good exposure to get out there.”

“Doing [tournaments] back to back is something that happens quite a lot in Judo because there are competitions all over the world that you’ve got to get to, not just the ones in Britain, so quite often we as fighters end up going back to back for maybe two or three weeks in a row at times, so it is hard, but once you get to the other side of it, and maybe you’ve got good results, then it is worth it.”

Jackson’s next tournament will take place in Latvia, as he will compete in the under 73 kg category at the Riga Senior European Cup between 21st and 22nd March.

He will join over 30 athletes who have already been confirmed for the men’s -73kg category, whilst Great Britain is set to be represented by 29 athletes across all of the men’s and women’s categories.

On his plans and hopes for this tournament as one of Great Britain’s senior athletes, Jackson said: "It's definitely a big step up because when I was a junior, which is under 21, there were competitions where I had top seven finishes abroad in European Cup under 21s, but stepping up to the seniors was definitely a big change because they're a lot stronger, and there’s also a big change in skill level, but I feel that I’m getting used to all of that now.”

“Of course I hope to be on the podium, and I know that I’ve got the skillset to be on the podium. It’s just about doing it on the day and being able to do it back to back against high-level fighters because to be on the podium I’ll have to win five fights on the day. So doing that back to back is definitely going to be hard, but I think a top-7 place would be a good way for me to then build on that and then progress onwards.”

After the European Cup, at the end of the month, Jackson will take part in an Olympic training camp, which will see the best fighters in the world get together in Hungary.

He will then continue to prepare for multiple European competitions in both May and June as he continues to fight against Europe’s best senior fighters in the men’s under 73kg category.

Those interested in sponsoring one of Yorkshire’s top self-funded Judo talents should make contact via email at tomjacko239@gmail.com