A TRIUMPHANT Sally Conway has taken her first Paris Grand Slam gold, becoming the first British woman to do so in more than 20 years.

Competing in the under-70kg event on Sunday, Thornbury judoka Conway fought her way through five tough matches, including several top seeds to claim gold in what is considered by many in the sport to be the most prestigious competition on the calendar.

The win also meant she edged up to 13th in the world, having slipped down the rankings last year as she took part in fewer events to focus on training.

The 31-year-old, 2016 Rio Olympic Games bronze medallist, who had claimed a Paris bronze in 2016, started her day with a solid win over France’s Melissa Heleine, before overcoming Swedish world number six Anna Bernholm, a tough opponent with a number of big medals in 2017 including Abu Dhabi Grand Slam gold.

Having beaten Conway the last time they had fought, quarter final opponent Maria Perez, from Peru, the world silver medallist in 2017, was another tough test, with the fight going into a golden score, but a minute into the sudden death round, Conway applied an armlock, forced Perez to tap for submission.

This put former Marlwood student Conway into the semi-finals, where she faced another French judoka, world number three Marie Eve Gahie, fighting with a great deal of the home crowd support on her side.

The tall and powerful Gahie looked dangerous in the standing exchanges but Conway saw her chance after defending a weak attack and toppled her, making her way to become the first Brit in a Paris final since 2004.

Facing the current title holder and number one seed, Chizuru Arai, in the final, Conway knew it would be hard to claim gold, having never bested the reigning champ.

Conway, however, put in a tactical performance and both judoka had chances to score in an exciting final, and after defending an attack from the Japanese fighter in the final minute, the Brit fought back, securing a hold down to end the contest with 20 minutes to go.

Speaking to the Gazette exclusively, Conway joked that it was ‘really cool’ to know she had as many French Grand Slam titles as tennis legend Roger Federer, adding that she was ‘over the moon’ with the result.

“I couldn’t have asked for a better day,” she said.

“I went in as 26th seed in the rankings, with all the girls I faced higher than me, so to come away with gold, I had to give my best performance.

“Taking each fight as it came was important and everything I have been working on just came together.

“The stadium was amazing, every seat was filled, so the atmosphere was incredible. I was asking myself if it was all real, hearing the national anthem play and seeing the flag go up.

“I feel like I am on the right path for the rest of the season and the things I am doing are clearly working.

“I will be looking back now to see where more improvements can be made and hopefully next time, will mean less mistakes.”