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After retiring from judo for a second time as Commonwealth champion in 2014, youd think Euan Burton would have quietly stepped into an office job that didnt involve throwing people on to mats. Not his style. The 37-year-old now keeps himself busy hurling his wife across the floor… and getting paid for it! Burton, born in Ascot, is leading the judo performance programme for his adopted Scotland in Edinburgh.Gemma Gibbons, AKA Mrs Burton and Olympic silver medalist in 2012, is continuing her qualifying battle for Rio and she couldnt have a better mentor and coach in her corner.Her husband reveals why he made a U-turn on quitting the sport, his love affair with Scotland and how being a Sky Academy Sports Scholar ignited his career.I was on the podium at the Commonwealths and I just felt relief. I was in Glasgow, in front of a sell-out home crowd, Scottish flags were everywhere and everyone was screaming. It was the perfect way to hang up my judo kit and I thought this has been a good career.There were 24 months to Rio and I had moved up two weight categories to 100kg. I had been fighting at 81kg which meant a lot of dieting. My natural progression was to move to 90 but because I was coaching those three fighters trying to qualify at that same weight I would have felt very uncomfortable going against them! Mr and Mrs Burton with Euan adding an MBE to his collection for his judo career It turned out that I had done something pretty special.The Olympic level is something very different. My body was getting older and my ability and motivation to go through the torture at the elite level was probably waning! I would be 37 in Rio and I wasnt willing to be at an Olympics just to take part. Winning a medal didnt feel realistic so I was happy to let the younger guys take over!I first gave up judo after the 2012 Olympics which hadnt gone to plan. I had the desire and drive to win a medal but that didnt materialise. I moved into coaching and was working with the Scottish athletes aiming for the Commonwealth Games and we had high aspirations being a home Games.A year after London I was just a coach keeping my eye on the mat. All my focus was on the coaching, but I had never competed for Scotland having always fought under the Union Jack for Britain at the major competitions.I had spent my whole career training in Scotland and I was very proud to be a Scottish athlete and I thought that if I could give something back and win a medal it would be good for me and Scotland and to end my career.I was training so much in those last six months. I was then told to focus on winning a medal in the last three months! Fortunately I won gold and it was the most successful Commonwealths ever for Scotland and for judo - It was 30 medals, 14 athletes, six golds - not a bad return!I was a Scholar in the build-up to London 2012 and it helped in so many ways. Something I became of aware of very quickly was the level and professionalism of the profile of myself as an athlete and judo as a sport. Crazy scenes in Glasgow as Burton is crowned Commonwealth champion in 2014 We werent stupid because many people didnt know what judo was but driving in Edinburgh seeing the Sky branding and the Team GB branding on a bus stop was amazing and for people to view me as athlete and to make people think thats a sport our kids could do was incredible - that was a major benefit.I got texted from people at bus stops beside my picture saying youre not looking too bad as an old man! It represented the sport in a good way. People involved in judo are very passionate and they wished more people knew about judo and so getting feedback from Sky and how well youre coming across gave me a good feeling. Seeing your face on the big posters was unreal though! It was almost embarrassing but in a very good way. Boosting the profile of the sport is something Im very proud of.I didnt capitalise with a medal but my wife did with a silver at London. She took everybodys hearts.The amount of time and work you put into your sport, the money you make is often disproportionate and so getting the support from the Scholarship scheme was just a fantastic feeling. It was small things like getting those experiences visiting the Sky studios understanding how to promote yourself, how the industry works and what makes a good story.It taught me how to deliver my story in a 30-second snippet in front of camera. That makes a big difference as an athlete. Being able to present and talk to people now, you cannot underestimate how big an impact those experiences can have on you going forward.One amazing thing about the Scholarships was the variety of athletes. We had gymnast Louis Smith and swimmer Liam Tancock and we were all brought together for promotion. You can get caught up in a bubble of your own sport and it was so good to share experiences of other sports with people who went through similar things. Born in England, but Burton is now helping to propel Scotlands top judo athletes on the worlds stage I was always trying to learn and take the good from what anybody is doing and that was very beneficial. I picked up so many little ideas on adjusting training or preparing better.For any new Scholars, I would recommend them embracing all the opportunities. Get out of your comfort zone! Certain experiences will fill you with dread and youll wonder how youll cope. But anything that challenges you help you develop.Theyll need to understand its such a huge honour to be a Scholar and such a huge opportunity to meet people and learn. Even a tiny fraction of their ability as an athlete can mean the difference between standing or not standing on the podium.Being the national high performance coach is challenging but my goal is to do well, particularly with athletes heading to the Rio Olympics and Paralympics. I want those guys to be as well prepared as possible and hopefully we can put them in a place to deliver something special.WHATS COMING UP FOR OUR SCHOLARS19 - 27 MAY: Savannah Marshall, World Championships in Kazakhstan22 - 30 MAY: Sam Oldham, Europan Gymnastics Championships in Switzerland Also See: Euan Burton wins Commonwealth gold Sport Scotland British Judo Council Euan Burton on Twitter About the Scholarship Meet the athletes Blogs Videos Galleries Detroit Tigers Pro Shop . Uniteds eighth defeat of a wretched campaign means Liverpool, which currently occupies the fourth and final Champions League place, could go nine points clear of its fierce rival by beating West Bromwich Albion on Sunday. Charlie Adam scored both of Stokes goals at Britannia Stadium either side of Robin van Persies equalizer, with a miserable day for seventh-place United capped by first-half injuries to centre halves Jonny Evans and Phil Jones that forced them off. Stitched Tigers Jerseys . Despite the cost, effort and an improved steroid test, its possible that very few -- if any -- positives will be detected, Dr. Richard Budgett told The Associated Press in an interview. "We just dont know what the results from Torino will be," Budgett said. https://www.cheaptigers.com/ . -- Teemu Selanne scored the first goal of his 22nd NHL season, and the Anaheim Ducks extended the best start in franchise history with their fifth straight victory, 3-2 over the Calgary Flames on Wednesday night. Fake Tigers Jerseys . -- Quarterback Will Finch threw for 252 yards and three touchdowns, and Yannick Harou rushed in two scores as the No. Cheap Tigers Jerseys . The Oilers come in having lost five in a row (0-4-1) and 16 of their last 20 games, dropping a 2-1 decision to the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday. NEW YORK -- With a stomach bug ravaging Baltimores clubhouse, manager Buck Showalter reminded the Orioles on Tuesday to wash their hands and noted that it seems like its another guy every day picks it up.By Wednesday, Showalter and third baseman Manny Machado had fallen ill, too. And now short-handed Baltimore has fallen out of first place in the AL East.Scuffling at the plate, especially with runners in scoring position, the Orioles lost 5-0 to the New York Yankees on Wednesday. The defeat, their fourth straight and third to open this four-game series, dropped them a half-game behind Boston.They went 1 for 9 with runners in scoring position and are 3 for 33 since the All-Star break. The bottom third of Baltimores lineup, all backups forced into action, hit a combined 0 for 9 on Wednesday.Were major league players: Figure out a way, center fielder Adam Jones said. Theres no `Oh, we didnt have him; we didnt have him. Theres injuries and illness on every other team in baseball.Yankees starter Michael Pineda (4-9) had six strikeouts with runners in scoring position, repeatedly wriggling out of jams to get through six innings and protect the bullpen.Orioles first baseman Chris Davis missed his third straight game with the flu-like symptoms that put him in the hospital Sunday night. Catcher Matt Wieters was out after being hit by a pitch on his right foot Monday. Bench coach John Russell filled in for Showalter.When you lose that many at once it makes it pretty tough, Russell said, and hopefully theyll start trickling back into the lineup sooner rather than later.Yovani Gallardo (3-2) couldnt keep it close, though he didnt get much help from his defense. He allowed four runs and fivee hits with five strikeouts and four walks in seven innings.dddddddddddd Gallardo is winless in his last four starts.Leading off the bottom of the first, Brett Gardner ripped a line drive to the warning track that right fielder Joey Rickard tracked down, but the ball bounced off the inside of his glove. Jones then bobbled it, and Gardner motored into third for what was ruled a triple. Carlos Beltran drove him in with a one-out sacrifice fly.MISSED OPPORTUNITIESTrailing 1-0, the Orioles had the bases loaded with one out in the fourth but Pineda struck out Nolan Reimold and Ryan Flaherty.We are going to have to find different ways to manufacture a little bit, Russell said. I felt like we had the opportunities -- we just didnt execute.GALLARDOS DAYGallardo allowed a solo home run to Mark Teixeira, who came in batting .186 and had missed three games because of a sore left foot, in the fourth. He then walked Teixeira on four pitches in the sixth with the bases loaded to force in a run and make it 3-0.TRAINERS ROOMJones left the game in the eighth with back spasms but said he expected to play Thursday. Davis is hoping to return for the series finale, while Wieters is still day-to-day.UP NEXTYankees LHP CC Sabathia (5-7) starts on his 36th birthday Thursday to close out the four-game series. He has a 7.48 ERA in four career starts on his birthday; he also has a 7.94 ERA since June 22.Orioles RHP Chris Tillman (13-2) and the Nationals Stephen Strasburg will both try Thursday to join Chris Sale of the White Sox as the only pitchers in the majors with 14 wins. ' ' '