TOM Reed feels that a huge weight has been lifted off his shoulders after he claimed his first World Cup medal for over three years in South America last weekend.

The previous weekend, Reed was knocked out in the second round of the u81kg category at the Montevideo Pan-American Open in Uruguay by Argentina’s Emmanuel Lucenti.

But the Devizes judoka bounced back a week later to take the bronze medal at the Buenos Aires Pan-American Open in Argentina.

Reed’s last World Cup medal came in February 2010 in Vienna and his South American triumph was made all the sweeter as the Devizes star had put his money where his mouth is.

“Obviously funding is tight at British Judo so they can only afford to send us to a few competitions but if you want to get the ranking points you need, you’ve got to fund some tournaments yourself,” said 27-year-old, who trains at the University of Bath.

“This was a self-funded trip and it had cost me £2,000.

“When I got the bronze medal match, all I could think about was that, but in the end, it was worth it.

“In Montevideo, I lost a really close match to Lucenti, who came seventh in the Olympics, but I got drawn against him again in the first match in Argentina and had the chance get some revenge.

“I lost in the semi-finals to a Brazilian player (Felipe Costa) but he went on to win the competition.

“It was a great result for me and it’s given me such a huge confidence boost. When you’ve gone such a long time without getting a medal like this, it’s really hard.

“But getting through a tough period like I have means that I’ve climbed a huge mountain.”

Reed will spend this Saturday and Easter Sunday competing alongside some of his Great Britain team-mates at the European Cup event in Sarajevo, Bosina.

Meanwhile, there was also international success for another Devizes judoka last weekend as 18-year-old Jemima Duxberry, won bronze at the Junior European Cup in Coimbra, Portugal.