LEFT with a feeling of anti-climax after her previous appearance at the Games, four years ago the thoughts of Bacup’s Sophie Cox could not have been further from the Olympics after she swapped judo for life as an English teacher in Thailand.

Now, though, the 30-year-old is about to compete in her second Olympics as she prepares for tomorrow’s -52kg category competition – insisting a medal is her target.

It has been quite a decade for Cox, who learned her trade at Bacup Judo Club and rose to represent Great Britain at the 2004 Olympics.

She reached the repechage quarter final in Athens but a year later, at the age of only 23, she decided to retire from the sport.

“It has been a real rollercoaster,” Cox said.

“I did all right in Athens, I could have done better but I could have done worse. But it just felt a bit like an anti-climax.

“It wasn’t like it is now in London, we were over there in Athens and it was all a bit more distant.

“I had been training at Bisham Abbey for three years but that closed so I didn’t have a full time place to train and focus.

“I was starting a four-year cycle for the Olympics again and I didn’t feel I could give 120 per cent to it.

“After the feeling of anti-climax after Athens, I thought I’d have a break. It ended up being a longer break than I expected!”

It was only in 2009, some time after the Beijing Olympics, that Cox started to consider a return to judo while teaching in Phuket.

“When Beijing was going on I wasn’t really tuning in, I was keeping myself away from it because I didn’t want it in the back of my mind,” she said.

“I was just getting on with day to day life over there. It was a great experience, although it was a completely different life. There was a responsibility not just for myself but for all the children.

“Now I’m back to being responsible for myself. When I was over in Thailand I did some training and I started enjoying judo again.

“I got the focus back and the determination to put myself through the torture. The training can be like that, but I was reading Bear Grylls’ book about what he had to go through in the SAS, so there are other people who have to go through more.

“Even when I came back for the first few months I wasn’t too sure whether I could make the Olympics.

“But I got the hunger back and I’m riding the wave again.

“If I hadn’t retired then I might not be where I am now.”

The -52kg category all takes place tomorrow, with Cox taking on North Korea’s An Kum Ae in the round of 32. Five consecutive victories would be needed for gold, but she believes she has the ability to do well.

“My number one aim is to do my absolute best but I believe that I can get a medal if I do that,” she said.

“It follows on, but I will need to perform at my best. If I could get a medal it would be the icing on the cake of my career, the pinnacle.

“The experience from Athens will definitely help me, although a lot more is expected of us this time. One of our coaches said it’s just like any other competition, but completely different!”