Wise old heads still the best British Judo have to offer

WHILE British Judo head coach Patrick Roux sets about his French Revolution, it appears it is the old guard who still rule the roost.

FLASH GORDON: Winston Gordon, who picked up gold at the British Open last weekend, in action at the Beijing Olympics (Getty Images)

Winston Gordon, 32, and 30-year-old Karina Bryant both froze in the headlights of the Beijing Olympics but both picked up gold medals at the British Open in Crawley at the weekend.

They were competing in their first event since Beijing, but both Gordon and Bryant proved too strong in their -90kg and +78 categories respectively.

This coupled, with 31-year-old Sarah Clark, who claimed silver at the European Championships last month, proves that the older generation of British judoka are not quite ready for the scrapheap just yet.

Britain picked up ten medals in total, including four golds, but were still beaten in the overall table by Spain, who took 14 medals.

Teenager Ashley McKenzie was one of few shining lights for the future as he defended his -60kg crown, while it was 27-year-old Peter Lomax, who won the heavyweight +100kg category.

Of the seven Brits who took to the judo hall in Beijing only two are under the age of 30, and there is little to suggest a fresher crop of talent will emerge in time for London 2012. 

But the winds of change are slowly blowing. Following the competition five judoka including Adam Bick, Bobby Rich, Denny Roberts, Caroline Kinane and Ben Guest were conscripted to the senior or junior British squads.

It's not exactly the storming of the Bastille but it's a start. But maybe Gordon and co are not ready for the guillotine just yet.