Eurosport - Mon, 21 Sep 08:18:00 2009
Sarah Clark and Kimberley Renicks captured gold on day one of the Birmingham World Cup to get Great Britain's campaign off to a flying start.
Clark (pictured) stepped down a weight from -63kg to -57kg after the Beijing Olympics, before claiming silver at the European Championships in April.
The 31-year-old crashed out of August's World Championships in Rotterdam - but went some way to making amends by defeating Austria's Hilde Dexler by ippon in her final in the Midlands.
"It felt good today," said Clark. "I am pleased that I gave people something to shout about.
"My build up has been good all year, it is just a shame that the World Championships weren't as good.
"Looking ahead I need to make sure that I am making progress month by month.
"I know I have been doing that, I just didn't do myself justice at the World Championships."
Renicks took gold with victory over Ireland's Lia Kearney in a final which went the distance.
"I am actually really happy with that result - it was the first time that I have beaten her," said Renicks.
"Last year I finished fifth at this event so it is better to come back here and medal. The home crowd has been really important - that support kept me going."
Meanwhile, James Millar and Alex Farbon claimed bronze in the -60kg and -73kg categories respectively.
Millar overhauled Russia's Murad Abdulaev, while Farbon defeated Norway's Martin Thiblin.
"I had a lot of tough matches today that required a lot of hard work but it all paid off and I got my bronze medal," said Farbon.
"It is a strong category for us and we have a lot of decent players at that weight so I was lucky enough to have got the bronze today."
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what is this story doing on the birmingham city site,its supposed to be about the football club
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