LACHLAN Moorhead is hoping to reach the Olympics this year, which might finally persuade his father to watch him compete overseas.
The 23-year-old from Penistone is the Commonwealth champion and is hoping to become Great Britain’s first ever Olympic judo champion.
He is currently in position to qualify for the Paris games this summer.
Lachlan said: “I hope it will be a massive year for me.
“It would be an unbelievable achievement to get to Paris.
“There is no competition like the Olympics.
“Anything can happen. It means more to everyone. There are loads of crazy upsets. That could be me.
“It would be fantastic to represent the area I am from.
“Not many from our area get to the Olympics but the ones that do are that bit better and tougher than everyone else.
“I just need to pick up as many points as I possibly can in the rankings and, if I am in the top 20, I will get to Paris.
“I am feeling good about it.
“I had some good performances late on last year and I am getting better all the time.”
Lachlan’s father Matt introduced him to the sport and still runs a judo club in Penistone. He has never watched his son compete overseas.
“He’s loyal to the soil.
“He hasn’t left the UK since the ‘90s and I was born in 2000.
“He doesn’t travel around but he watches all my fights online.
“I reckon he probably would go to Paris.
“If he could watch me at the Olympics that would be perfect.
“It might finally drag him out of South Yorkshire.”
The final qualifying event will be the World Championships in May in Abu Dhabi.
“There will be loads of ranking points available there. It will be my third World Championships so I will want to get to the quarter-finals at least.
“Hopefully I can do really well there and secure my place at Paris.”
Lachlan regularly travels around the globe. He said: “I have loads of events all around the world, at least two a month, so I will be very busy but that’s the game.
“I love going to different places.
“It’s great fun. But most of the time I don’t get to see them.
“I just arrive, make weight, fight then come home that evening.
“I see a bus and a sports hall and that’s it.
“But it is a privilege to have this opportunity and I don’t want to sound ungrateful.
“Sporting-wise, I am learning so much all the time at these events.”
Lachlan is set to finish his degree in business management at the University of Birmingham this summer then is hoping to take up judo full-time.
