The national governing body unveiled who they will be supporting financially, using money from the National Lottery and UK Sport, over the next year on their World Class Performance Programme (WCPP) as they start to focus on Tokyo 2020 and Gibbons, second in the women’s 78 kilogram category at the Games four years ago, was not included.

This means she is still available to represent Britain at competitions but must fund herself.

However, in a message sent to insidethegames via Twitter, the 29-year-old who lives in Edinburgh said the decision was of her own making.

"I was offered a place on the WCPP with funding, but chose to decline due to the condition put to all players that they have to relocate to Walsall (the British Judo centre) to receive this funding," Gibbons said.

"Of course I want to be on the WCPP and I feel British Judo's strategy of a centralised system is the way forward, but as a married woman studying at a Scottish university who believes I am in the best place for me to train right now, it is a move I am unable to make.

"I therefore declined my place on the programme and the funding that accompanies it."

British Judo said they will still offer support to judokas like Gibbons who are not on the WCPP through a "transition programme".

"We fully respect Gemma's decision and the door is still open for her to represent Great Britain and qualify for Tokyo through the GB self-funding programme, which players and coaches were made aware of post-Rio 2016," a spokesman for the governing body said.

Sally Conway, a bronze medallist in the under 70kg at Rio 2016, and Natalie Powell, the Commonwealth Games champion in the 78kg at Glasgow 2014 when she represented Wales, have been selected to receive funding through the National Lottery and UK Sport in the Podium programme.

A further 20 British judokas will also be given money on lower tier Podium Potential programmes and another six will also be helped by the governing body in their Academy Programme.

"As our performance system continues to improve, we can now roll out our strategy with a very exciting group of athletes that we are confident can perform and medal in Tokyo," said Nigel Donohue, British Judo’s performance director.

"As always, making decisions on athletes to offer a place or not on the WCPP is a very difficult one and great care and consideration is taken when identifying athletes for the programme who we believe have medal potential for Tokyo or 2024.”"

Another judoka who has missed out on selection on the programme is Ashley McKenzie, winner of a gold medal for England in the men’s 60kg category at Glasgow 2014.