In Amir’s case it is a Cuban; Bryant’s b? noire is from China, one Sun Fuming.Bryant has fought her twice, and lost. In fact, she admits she has never actually beaten a Chinese opponent “But that doesn’t mean to say I won’t. At the moment, with the condition I’m in, I know I can beat them Before, I’ve always had doubts in my head I saw them as indestructible The last three Olympic champions have all been Chinese. They really have unbelievable depth, particularly in the heavier divisions, where they have been in a class of their own for a long time.”Now, however, Bryant believes she is mentally as well as physically ready to banish this China syndrome. The other team members are Georgina Singleton, Sophie Cox, Sarah Clark, Rachel Wilding, Craig Fallon and Winston Gordon. “Everyone is capable of a medal if we perform on the day,” says Bryant.

“The thing is not to let the pressure get on top of us.”Her coach, Mark Earle, has nurtured the Bryant talent since her early teens, and she was among those of his pupils who, with their own hands, built a DIY dojo on a disused car park at Camberley in Surrey. It is now Britain’s only purpose-built Japanese-style training camp where judo players can live and train together full-time.Earle says of Bryant: “She’s a big girl but not a bully at all. Because she has such good technique it means she doesn’t have to rely on sheer aggression. When she first came here as a 14-year-old she already weighed about 80 kilos, and I don’t think the other girls relished the thought of practising with her. But as she threw them she would put her arm underneath and gently lower them to the floor. She’s such a nice girl.”Of the British team, only Bryant and the redoubtable Kate Howey have had previous Olympic experience These will be Howey’s fourth Games.

When she won the middleweight silver in Sydney (she also won bronze in 1992) it was Britain’s 16th Olympic judo medal But the gold proves elusive. Bryant’s Olympic build-up has also been helped by fighting professionally for a team in Germany’s judo bundesliga which, added to Lottery money, enables her to devote all her time to the sport.”In fact, apart from eating and sleeping, judo is all I do. It consumes every waking hour,” she declares before jumping into her hopefully symbolic gold Mini-Cooper (J4 UDO) and driving to her home in Farnham for another quick kip between one of her three daily training sessions. Then it will be back to the dojo to practise her harai-goshis and seoi-nagis (hip and shoulder throws) After all, she has a Great Wall to climb.. It was a long and rather unaccustomed wait for the champion, but Kieren Fallon finally made the Goodwood leaderboard yesterday, on the fifth and final day of this showcase meeting atop the Sussex downs.