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ST HELENS judoka Lucy Renshall is super excited to be fighting at her first senior European Championships.

The former junior champion, from the SKK club, has been selected for the prestigious tournament, which takes place in Tel Aviv from April 26-28.

Originally from Eccleston, Renshall has been based at the sport’s centre of excellence in Walsall for the past five years.

And all that hard work is coming to fruition, with the 22-year-old making a seamless transition from junior sport to being in with the world’s elite seniors.

Renshall said: “My preparation has gone really well, we went to Berlin last week for the boys cadet camp, which made it harder fighting the boys.

“Then prior to that went to Georgia and used that as a preparation event to try new things.

“It worked out well and I ended up winning a bronze.

“In the fight I lost in the quarter final I tried something different and it just did not work.

“It went wrong in the right place, so to speak.

“Last weekend we had squad training where the whole team came together.”

Renshall is in the 63kg category where she faces the best in the world in this category.

“It will be as hard as the Worlds given most of the best fighters in this weight are European.

“It is my first European and I will be going in as seed number eight.

“I just want to go out and fight well and not be disappointed with the way I fight.

“I know that if I fight my best I have a chance of a medal, but I just want to fight well out there.

“I have fought most of the top fighters in this category - including the Olympic champion, so I have confidence to go out there and won’t be as nervous to fight them.

“But we will see what happens on the day.”

Renshall explained why she has slotted into the senior competition so well - culminating in this maiden senior European Championship appearance.

“I did quite well at junior, winning the Europeans and then getting a medal at the Worlds, so that gave me confidence going into the seniors,” she said.

“I was ready to move on - and when I won the European under 23s that made me feel I was definitely ready to move on to seniors.

“It is much harder - with the extra strength and the professionalism, but as they are getting older so am I.”

Renshall took up the sport at the age of eight after a visit to St Julies Primary School by SKK coach Peter Blood.

An athlete and gymnast at that time, she joined the Earlestown-based club and took to it immediately.

She has had the support of her family throughout her career – but this time has asked her mum not to come and cheer her in Tel Aviv after joking that she has jinxed some of her previous performances.

“It is funny but every competition that my mum and dad come to watch me – like Dusseldorf - and I lose and I say my mum has jinxed me.

“My mum wanted to come but I told her I wanted to watch from home this time!” she said.