Clark was the only GB squad member to progress past the second round

British judo coach Patrick Roux hopes Sarah Clark's European Championships silver medal will be an example to the rest of the squad on the road to 2012.

The 31-year-old Scot beat Olympic champion Guila Quintavalle on her way to silver in the -57kg category.

But only three of the other 11 members of the squad progressed past their first fights in Tblisi, Georgia.

"This performance and Sarah's professionalism should inspire the entire GB team," said Roux.

"She was very unlucky not to win the decision in the final, which in my opinion should have been hers."

Clark, from Edinburgh, has been in strong form since moving down a weight category, after competing at -63kg in Beijing.

She finally fell to Telma Monteiro, the Portuguese world champion in the -52kg category, 3-0 on a refereeing flag decision, which is used if a fight finishes level.

Faith Pitman was the only other GB woman to reach the second round, as did James Millar and Euan Burton from the men's squad.

Roux praised the two men but, with an eye on the London Olympics, he added: "We went into this European Championships with a clear understanding that there is still a substantial gap to the international elite.

"We must continue to focus on what we need to achieve over the remainder of this foundation period."

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