DEVIZES judoka Tom Reed hopes his gold at the Miami Grand Prix will stand him in good stead on the road towards his ultimate goal of qualification for the next Olympics.

The 27-year-old Team Bath fighter secured a breakthrough result on the senior International Judo Federation circuit when he beat Argentinean Emmanuel Lucenti to win the U81kgs title in Florida.

With the World Championships in Rio fast approaching, Reed has his sights firmly set on more positive displays.

"I knew that I was capable of winning the tournament but that I needed to keep the right mindset throughout so I'm relieved to come out the other side with a gold medal," he said.

"I will use this as a stepping stone to build on because there is always a lot more work to be done."

The Miami Grand Prix forms part of the IJF World Tour, carrying valuable points for the world rankings.

His competition began against another Argentine Alfredo Effron which he won by ippon and scored another ippon against Joshua White to defeat the USA athlete on home soil.

This set up a semi-final against Tuvshinjargal Gan of Mongolia. The contest went to golden score and Reed claimed victory to book a place in the final where he battled Lucenti to win the gold.

It is his first major win since taking gold at the British Championships in Sheffield 18 months ago and his first at IJF World Tour level.

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