Published: Thursday, 27th September, 2007 09:00
Judo ace Feenan groovy after awards ceremony
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AWARD WINNER: Iain Feenan
DUNFERMLINE judo star Iain Feenan mixed it with the great and the good of Scottish sport on Monday night when his achievements were recognised at the National Lottery World Class Awards.
Feenan joined star names such as three-times world rowing champion Katherine Grainger and World Championship bronze medal-winning athlete Lee McConnell for the showpiece ceremony at Glasgow’s City Halls for the lottery-funded inaugural event.
The former St Columba’s High student was among 61 athletes on show who receive financial backing to help with day-to-day expenses and coaching costs in preparation for the London Games in 2012.
And having won the 2006 Closed British Championships in the 73kg weight category, he is hoping to secure Olympic qualification and line up against the world’s best next summer.
“I have a great chance and hopefully I will do well but you just have to take one event at a time,” said Feenan, who featured in the awards show screened on BBC2 Scotland last night (Wednesday).
“There’s nothing else you can do unless you have qualified already. But hopefully a few of us will be there. We want to qualify as quickly as possible because it takes some of the stress out of the situation.”
Feenan started his path to judo stardom at the tender age of eight and is now within touching distance of a place on the plane to China next summer.
But the 24-year-old admitted should his Beijing dream end in disappointment he will focus his energy on home glory when the Olympic torch arrives in London four years later.
He added, “London is bigger for me because that’s when I will be reaching my peak. I will still be fairly young and I would love to do it.
“When I think about it, it always makes me train hard and train more, which I find useful to get away from some of the pressures of normal life.”
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