Mark aims to make big impression

Mark Montgomery has set his sights on a Commonwealth Games double, despite ditching his judo suit.

The Aghalee man finished in a highly creditable fifth place at the 2002 games in Manchester and he is aiming high again, only 18 months after taking advantage of Sport NI’s Talent Transfer Initiative and swapping his belt for wrestling garb.

Mark has come a long way in a short space of time and there was another long journey for him yesterday, leaving his home at 6.30am to head to India, via London, for this weekend’s Commonwealth Wrestling Championships, in a country that is mad about the sport. “Wrestling is the national sport of India and they were keen to host this tournament to have a dry run before the Commonwealth Games next year,” said Mark.

“The arena that will be hosting the wrestling isn’t ready yet, so they’ve moved the event to Jalandhar, in the Punjab region, which means an extra flight for me. “It’s an eight-hour flight from London to Delhi after a six-hour stop in London, so it will be some time on Tuesday that I arrive. “The capacity of the arena for the Commonwealth Games is 15,000 or 20,000 and it’s the first sport to sell out, so there will be a lot of interest in this championships”.

Having competed all over the world in judo, it was a change of direction from the sport’s top brass and an opportunistic wrestling chief that lead to Mark’s switch. “I had competed in north-America, south-America, Africa, Oceania and Europe,” he said.

“I was keen to continue to compete at a high level, but the Northern Ireland governing body for judo has taken its focus away from senior level teams. “I was approached by the chairman of Northern Ireland Wrestling Association and jumped at the chance to get involved in a new challenge.”

And he has taken to wrestling like the proverbial duck to water, with medals already added to his collection this year. “I took gold in the Scottish Open, gold in the Welsh Open, fifth place in Barcelona when representing Great Britian and a semi-final place at the British Open, which was the qualifying target set for next years Commonwealth Championships. “my target is to finish in the top eight and although that might not sound very high, in these Championships each country can enter two wrestlers per weight which means, whereas there is only one each in the Games so it has the potential to be twice as difficult.

“The tactical advice I receive from my coach John O’Rawe is magnificant. “As is the support package I receive from the Sports Institute of Northern Ireland [SINI] together with the ongoing support given by the Northern Ireland Commonwealth Games Council. “Lisburn City Council and local company Cage Wars have also been a great help in financing my preparations and attendance at these Championships.”