Ethan Nairne made it a dream weekend for his family after adding gold to sister Lele’s judo bronze as Team England’s judokas made it a perfect 10 medals from 10.
The penultimate day of judo competition at Glasgow 2026 saw Team England pick up five medals including golds for Nairne, in the men’s -73kg and Kelly Peterson-Pollard in the women’s -70kg.
Nairne triumphed in an all-English final, getting the better of compatriot Benjamin Levy by Yuko in a final that went the distance, following in the footsteps of his older sister, who had won bronze in the -57kg category the previous evening.
He said: “What a weekend it’s been for the Nairne family. Her getting bronze spurred me on even more. It motivated me to go out there and do my best. I’ve only seen her twice today but I saw her celebrating in the crowd while letting me focus.
“I’m so relieved. I’ve wanted to achieve this for a long time.”
The contest was fought in front of the Prince and Princess of Wales, and Nairne’s joy contrasted with Levy’s disappointment, with the pair knowing each other inside out as they train regularly together.
Levy said: “I’m very disappointed that I didn’t win this event. It’s very different fighting someone I know so well. It’s about who can make the best plan on that day and surprise the other.”
In the women’s -70kg category, Peterson-Pollard got the better of Jemima Yeats-Brown in the quarter-final, eventually taking gold after battling past Aoife Coughlan, the Australian disqualified after picking up a third penalty in golden score.
She said: “That was so good, I’m chuffed with that. Four weeks ago she beat me on penalties and now, it’s me! This is such a nice feeling.”
Yeats-Brown bounced back from defeat to Peterson-Pollard to claim bronze, edging past Moira de Villiers with an ippon in golden score.
And the judoka, who has now won three Commonwealth bronze medals after doing so in Birmingham and the last time the Games were held in Glasgow, revealed that she was calling time on her career with this success.
She explained: “I’m over the moon. That was my last contest before I retire. I decided at the start of the year my body has been through enough. I wanted to finish on a high here and I have.
“I felt an edge today, I knew if it was it I needed to make a good run of it. I told my friends and family so I couldn’t go back on it, I needed to finish strong.”
Jamal Petgrave continued the perfect record for Team England judokas at these Games as he won bronze in the men’s -90kg category, beating Noah Wallis of New Zealand.
And while it was not the gold he won four years ago, Petgrave was pleased to get onto the podium.
He said: “I mentioned before these Games, nothing is promised to you. Just because you come in as defending champion doesn’t mean people are going to give you a way to the gold medal, they are going to fight you every step of the way. I came out and fought my best, this was the best I’ve felt today and I’m so happy to come away with a bronze medal.”
Glasgow 2026
