Kelly Petersen Pollard has been on a steep learning curve in her judo career and is now more determined than ever to put those lessons into practice at Glasgow 2026.

The Team England judoka banked a bronze medal at Birmingham 2022 and has used it as fuel to pursue even higher honours in years to come.

That major Games experience has given Petersen Pollard a renewed focus for Glasgow 2026 where her sights are firmly set on the top step of the podium.

“When we're younger, we watch the older athletes and we all aspire to go to the Commonwealth Games," she said.

"Especially for Team England, judo has always been the most successful, so you always wanted to be a part of that team.

“I dreamed of going there and doing it. It was always something I felt like if I could achieve that, then I could achieve anything.

“I'll be going to Glasgow with the hope to win it this time. That'll put me in good stead to go forward.

“Especially for my family, Glasgow's not too far so they'll all be coming. My mum and dad love it and they never get to watch me that often, so to have them all there is really nice.”

Petersen Pollard competes in judo’s -70kg weight classification and boasts a junior European Champion title as well as four Grand Slam and three Grand Prix podiums.

Back in 2022, the experience of competing in a Commonwealth Games just miles from her hometown of Sutton Coldfield certainly met expectations.

Petersen Pollard was joined on the podium by Team England colleague Jemima Yeats-Brown, who also won a bronze medal.

“It was amazing. I've never felt anything like that because we compete all over the world but we don't have our family and our friends there,” she said.

“The arena was quite close to the mat so as you're walking out you can see your mum, your dad, your best friend looking over. That was really cool.

“It was a nerve-wracking experience, I haven't felt nerves like that before but it was something really good to do, especially early on in my career.”

Now, the 25-year-old is determined to utilise the lessons from Birmingham to propel her forward.

Her experience is already informing the way she approaches training for Glasgow 2026, as she completes a four-week training block in Japan.

"This year we have less competitions. We’re getting a big block of training out here and then I'll go back to competitions as soon as I get home,” she explained.

“Then, I'll rest and train again. Last time I was a lower level and we were chasing the points all the time, like compete, compete, compete and it was hard to do that and to learn.

“There's a lot of noise around [the Commonwealth Games] so that brings a lot of pressure. Learning how to deal with that pressure was something I wasn't as good at two years ago so this time, when I’m getting closer I’ll block that out.”