DAMON SANSUM, the Elgin-based fighter, will travel to Rio this summer but only as a reserve after being left out of Team GB’s four-strong taekwondo team. Sansum, one of the Sunday Herald’s Six to Follow, had hoped his form last year in particular would earn him the nod for the solitary slot in the under-80kg category. Instead, the British Olympic Association have instead handed the berth to Lutalo Muhammad who won a bronze in London four years ago after being controversially selected ahead of then world number one Aaron Cook.
Sansum, then, will head to Rio to train with the squad prior to the Games in case anything should happen to Muhammad, and will be joined by another Scot, Lyle Walker, who has been named as reserve for Mahama Cho in the heavyweight division.
Prior to the announcement, the 29 year-old Sansum had admitted it would be extremely disappointing if he were not selected but vowed to keep himself in shape just in case. “I’ll be devastated if I don’t make it,” he said last month. “But if you’re reserve then there are a lot of injuries in the sport and I wouldn’t want to be disheartened and give up and then three weeks later you’re called in.”
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