In 2017, Powell became the first female British judoka to be ranked number one in the world by winning a gold medal at the Abu Dhabi judo Grand Slam.
Powell sees this as her crowning achievement, in addition to winning Commonwealth gold at the Glasgow games in 2014, as well as world and European bronze medals.
And while the passion for judo still burns brightly – she coaches youngsters at the Cardiff Judo Academy – Powell remembers the moment when she realised that her competitive career was coming to an end.
It was the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, the “Covid games” which should have taken place a year prior, where Powell failed to achieve a podium place.
“I think the transition probably started after Tokyo. I put my heart and soul into Tokyo and it didn’t pan out the way I’d hoped,” said Powell.
“The year following Tokyo, I was very much one foot in, one foot out and I probably didn’t want it as much as I previously had done. It had always been judo, judo, judo, that was it, that was life and I think after Tokyo, I had the kind of realisation that maybe it’s time to step into something else.”
Having achieved a degree in biomedical science and a masters in advanced coaching Powell said her focus was shifting.
“I was starting to get experiences in terms of doing talks in schools and starting to broaden my horizons outside of the judo and then I was very fortunate with my coach Darren [Warner], he was always thinking about that too, so he was always thinking how he could help me and having the conversations early.
“I think by the time it came I was very much ready to make that step. For 26 years my life has very much been judo, and in the last 15 it’s been intensely judo, so the transition was definitely scary but I was really lucky that I had such great support from my coach, my family and my friends.
“I coach Cardiff Judo Academy and run classes two or three nights a week so it’s really good and really nice to still be connected with the judo community because that’s given me so much”.
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