Seven British Judoka Set for the 2026 Warsaw European Open
A quieter weekend on the international judo calendar sees seven British judoka travel to Poland to compete at the Warsaw European Open.
Rory Tyrrell (Camberley JC) will compete in the -81kg category, coming off the back of his IJF World Tour debut at the Grand Prix Upper Austria. Tyrrell recorded one win and one loss in Linz, gaining valuable experience against some of the world’s top athletes on one of judo’s biggest stages. He will look to use that experience, alongside the strong form he showed throughout 2025, as he aims for his best result of 2026.
In the -90kg division, Kenneth Harris (Royal Navy Judo) steps onto the mat for his second competition of the year after competing at the Casablanca African Open in January. Harris will be hoping to secure a first-round victory and improve on his previous performances at European Open level.
Joshua Whitehouse (Judo Swansea) will compete in the +100kg category as he looks to build on his fifth-place finish at the Casablanca African Open earlier this year. The current British Champion will be fighting in just his second career European Open, having previously competed at the La Nucia European Open in May 2025. With greater international experience under his belt, Whitehouse will aim to better that result in Warsaw.
Ashleigh Barnikel (Bradley Stoke JC) enters the -48kg category following a strong bronze medal performance at the Tunis African Open. She will be hoping to carry that momentum into the weekend and secure another podium finish.
Also competing at -48kg is Summer Shaw (Camberley JC), who continues her return to competition following a lengthy injury layoff. Shaw has already competed at both the Sofia and Ljubljana European Opens this year, gaining valuable mat time as she works her way back to top form.
Lele Nairne (Bradley Stoke JC) takes on the -57kg division following an impressive return to competition at the Sofia European Open in January, where she claimed bronze in her first international appearance since 2024 at the Paris Olympic Games. The Olympian will be looking to reach the podium once again this weekend.
Rachael Hawkes (Camberley JC) will compete in the -70kg category after narrowly missing out on a medal at last week’s Podgorica Senior European Cup, where she finished fifth, her best result of 2026 so far. Hawkes will be aiming to build on that performance and push for a podium place in Warsaw.
Great Britain will also be represented by two referees at the event, with Stefan Newbury and Archi Shrimpton officiating in Warsaw.
Good luck to the whole team!
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