Sydnee Andrews has written her name into the history books by becoming the first New Zealand woman to win a Commonwealth Games gold medal in judo, according to 1news. Competing in the women’s over 78 kilogram category in Glasgow, the 23-year-old secured the title with an ippon victory over Cameroon’s Richelle Soppi Mbella in the final, which ended just two minutes and 33 seconds into the bout.
Sydnee Andrews Claims Historic Commonwealth Games Judo Gold in Glasgow
The achievement marks New Zealand’s first Commonwealth judo title in 36 years. The last Kiwi judoka to top the podium was Brent Cooper, who won gold at the Auckland Games in 1990. Because judo is not a core Commonwealth Games sport and is included at the discretion of the host city, long gaps occur between appearances, with Glasgow scheduling 14 judo events.
Overcoming Injury and Dominating the Mat
Andrews arrived at the Games under an injury cloud after suffering an injury earlier in the year, requiring her to prove her fitness before being named as a late addition to the New Zealand team. Despite the setback, she won all three of her bouts in Glasgow by ippon, the highest score in judo that results in an instant win.
On her path to the final, Andrews defeated Mauritius’s Marie Durhone in the quarter-finals. She then battled past Gabon’s Marthe Gnacadja Avaro in a semi-final encounter where she noted that her opponent kicked the s**t out of my shin, but pain is a just a four letter word and I pushed through it
as reported by 1news.
During the final against Mbella, a brief moment of confusion occurred. Two minutes and 33 seconds into the match, Andrews thought she had secured the full score and stood up, but quickly realized no score had been registered. I thought I threw her for the full score so that’s why I got up but then I don’t know if I heard anyone say anything and so I just had an instinct to get back on top of her because I felt something was wrong and nothing was actually scored,
Andrews explained to 1news. She maintained her hold to prevent her opponent from escaping, and the score was subsequently confirmed.
Building on Past Success and Unfinished Business
The gold medal successfully settled unfinished business for Andrews, who previously claimed a bronze medal at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games four years prior. I couldn’t have done it without my coach Luke Preston, and my physio.
We did so much work behind the scenes to get to where we are now and just to think that I’m going to be on top of that podium now is unreal.
Originally from Gisborne, where she learned the sport at the Gisborne Judo Club under coach Jason King, Andrews has spent the past four years training full-time and basing herself at the Camberley club in Surrey, England. Her victory served as New Zealand’s 10th gold medal of the Glasgow Games.
Strong Campaign for New Zealand’s Small Judo Squad
New Zealand’s wider judo squad also found success at the Games. Teammate Kody Andrews, who is no relation, secured a bronze medal in the men’s over 100 kilogram category by defeating Scotland’s Gregor Miller with a yuko score. Another Kiwi competitor, Matthew Rowley, exited the tournament in the men’s under 100 kilogram repechage against Cyprus’s Aristos Michael.
The accomplishments of the judo team came within a trimmed Glasgow 2026 Games schedule that ran from July 23 to August 2, featuring 10 sports and roughly 2,729 athletes across 74 Commonwealth teams, as detailed by newswire.co.nz. New Zealand ultimately finished sixth on the overall medal standings with 10 gold, 14 silver, and 12 bronze medals.
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