Gemma Howell: Former European champion retires from judo at 33

Gemma Howell's finest hour came in Sofia in 2022 when she swapped her 2018 bronze for European gold

Former European champion Gemma Howell has retired from judo at the age of 33.

Stafford-born Howell, who lives in Telford, said it had been "the hardest decision of my life".

She also revealed that after fighting back from a string of injuries, it was her own body that was "screaming" at her to finally quit.

"I've been doing judo 25 years. I tried to stop twice before but this time my body has made the decision for me," Howell told BBC Radio Shropshire.

"It's almost been taken out of my hands."

The severe injuries she has suffered read like a medical manual - anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (both knees), medial collateral ligament reconstruction (both knees), bucket handle cartilage tear (both knees), dislocated elbow, bulging neck disc, knee infection (and risk of amputation), two stress fractures, concussion and a broken wrist.

That was before her most recent injury, a detached biceps, having just finished radio therapy on her hand, to counter Dupuytren's disease - an abnormal thickening of tissues in the palm of the hand. "It's genetic," she said. "My grandad had it too."

'My body was screaming'

But her retirement now makes last year's European Judo Championships triumph in Bulgaria seem all the more special.

After winning bronze in the -70kg category at the Europeans in 2018, then staying at the same mark at the Tokyo Olympics in 2020, she stepped down to the -63kg category for Sofia.

And Howell struck gold, beating world championship silver medallist Andreja Leski and European Under-23 champion Szofi Ozbas en route to a final against Kosovo's Laura Fazliu.

She registered two waza-ari scores as she dominated the contest against Fazliu to win her first major title.

"Becoming European champion was genuinely the happiest moment of my life," she said. "It made all the 11 operations I had undergone seem worthwhile.

"I snapped my biceps tendon in the summer and had to have surgery. The surgeon told me then that this was career-ending because of how long it takes to get back from it.

"That delayed my planned comeback and reduced me to just one judo session a day. Any less and I wouldn't have been able to compete anyway.

"But my body was just screaming at me saying 'no'."

Gemma Howell was talking to BBC Radio Shropshire's Mary-Kate Wheeldon.