Whanganui judoka Keightley Watson trains in Holland

BIG TIME: Whanganui judoka Keightley Watson mixes it with world heavyweights in Holland for the next five weeks.
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Whanganui heavyweight judoka Keightley Watson will have little downtime from the mat over the Christmas period after flying off to a training camp in the Netherlands.

For the next five weeks, the 16-year-old black belt will be based in near Amsterdam in Holland training at the Judo Academy Netherlands before travelling to London for the trip home.

Father Ross Watson said the opportunity arose for his son to train with Dutch heavyweight Grim Vuijsters, a 4th dan black belt, who has won nine World Cup medals and is one of the few judokas in the world to defeat 10-time world heavyweight and two-time Olympic champion Teddy Riner of France.

"To train with not only a heavyweight of Grim Vuijsters' calibre, but also be able to tap into his knowledge and mat experience was an opportunity not to be lost," Ross watson said.

"While he will be the only judoka staying at the onsite facilities for the five weeks, they are holding a number of training camps over that period with athletes coming and going, so the training schedule will keep him busy throughout along with one-on-one training with Grim and the gym sessions.

"Timing is not ideal from a family prospective, but is ideal from the point of not missing the start of his Year 12 in 2018 at Wanganui High School. Next year Keightley has a busy calendar with his first tournament the ACT International Open in Canberra two weeks after he arrives back in New Zealand where he will be competing in the Cadet Men (15-18yrs), Junior Men (18-20) and Senior Men (21yrs plus)."

By Iain Hyndman
Wanganui Chronicle 20/12/17