Abi Guest wants to be more future Olympics

Guest now trains at Wolverhampton Judo Club under Bill Kelly, who famously took Gemma Howell to two Olympics, and is due to start training with the Olympic Potential Squad, as she steps up her quest to qualify for Los Angeles 2028 or Brisbane 2032.

The 18-year-old secured her place in the national squad by winning bronze in the Juniors and finishing seventh in the Seniors at the British Championships in December 2022.

In March, Guest won gold in the Juniors and claimed bronze in the Seniors at the 2024 Scottish Open, which has paved the way for her to potentially start competing at European level.

"I've always been interested in martial arts. I started kickboxing when I was five and got my black belt and moved onto taekwondo where I did the same," she recalls.

"When I moved into judo, it just felt natural to me. I've always been good at sport and I've always been interested in sport. I just knew this was definitely the sport for me.

"I wasn't initially going to compete in judo because I didn't feel confident enough but my coach convinced me to start doing club competitions.

"From there, I started winning club competitions and went onto area competitions where I did really well. I got asked to be in the British national team representing the Midlands and that was my first ever Level 4 competition, which is a national competition."

It was then that Guest realised just how far she could go in the sport.

"The two people that I fought, one of them was a national silver medallist and the other one had been in the squad for years, was a former national champion and competed abroad.

"So for me to beat those two players was a massive thing and was completely unexpected.

"I managed to get us into the bronze medal fight. I was the last person on the team as a heavyweight so it was down to me to get us into the bronze medal fight.

"We managed to get the bronze medal in both junior and senior. That was when I realised that there was a chance of doing this.

"When I went to the British Championships, I went with the mindset of, it's my first year, it doesn't really matter what happens, just go and give it my best.

"To win bronze was amazing really. This year, I just did the Scottish Open where I got gold in juniors and bronze in the seniors, but getting that gold medal meant that I beat the British junior champion, who was ranked number one in the country.

"That was also a very big deal and with that win, I was able to get selected into the England squad."

Guest, who is actively looking for sponsors to help fund the next stage of her development, hopes her recent successes will only mark the start of an exciting journey.

"Next month we start the Olympic potential training camps. So that's where the work really starts," she concludes.

"We get to figure out what we have to do and how training can work around our schedules to make it possible.

"It's very exciting. It just means that anything is possible in the future, I just need to keep working hard and see how far I can go."

If you would be interested in sponsoring Guest, please email abigail.guest60@gmail.com.