Sophie Cox will be 30 in 2012 if she grabs one of the British judo team spots and returns to the Excel, where she claimed the lightweight bronze medal in the Olympic test event.

But Cox is feeling the excitement of a beginner since her return to competitions in 2010 - and the reason for her inspiration is in Thailand.

An early retirement, at age 23, after the Athens Games in 2004, were followed by five years in the Asian country teaching English.

Cox never stopped training though and the lure of a home Games finally proved too much and she beat British team-mate Stephanie Inglis with an ippon, judo's equivalent of a knockout blow, to claim her podium spot at the test event.

"I had a good life experience in Thailand and now I can bring that back because I know I have been out there in the wider world, have done it, now I can focus on my judo," she said.

"Since I retired I always felt I had a lot more to give and besides teaching English. I started coaching out there and practicing and did some competitions because I wanted to keep myself fit.

"I just got a really good vibe from being here, it has been a really worthwhile. I have enjoyed it, competition is always hard, the nerves, that energy that you have to put into the fight. Getting a result at the end of the day, it's what makes it worth it.

"I don't think about retiring after London. If my body can still hold on, why not continue? There is a woman I used to fight, she is a double Olympic champion and she is 39. She still competes, so if she can do it maybe I can too."

Cox's result was the best among the 14 British judokas competing in the men's and women's lightweight division, in which Brazil's Bruno Mendonça and France's Shirley Elliot claimed gold.

But the lack of medals is not a concern for British Judo, with the federation not using the test event as a reference to select their Olympic squad.

"As the host nation, we get the great bonus of being able to absorb the atmosphere, find out how our environment is like and look out for any potential problems that might come about for our organisation next year," said Karen Roberts, GB Judo's performance operations manager.

"This event itself doesn't contribute to the Olympic qualification. It is not one of the world ranking events, for instance."

That is why some of GB's top judokas are competing this weekend at the IJF world circuit event in Jeju, South Korea, where Gemma Gibbons won bronze in the middleweight division.

"That probably moved her up in the rankings and that would be more beneficial for her than being here. So the whole experience here is more like the big picture, so that's why the test event is so important for most nations," added Roberts.

The GB Olympic team will be selected by the British Judo federation in May 2012 and as the host country, Team GB can take up to 14 athletes to the Games – seven men and seven women.

Sportsbeat / Eurosport