TWO Belfast schoolgirls are blazing a trail at karate championships throughout the British Isles.
Thirteen-year-old Tierna Lavery, a pupil of Trinity Belfast won a silver medal at the Irish Open International Karate Championships, while her 10 year old team-mate Alexandria (Alex) Crowe who attends Glenwood Primary School also took a silver medal.
Almost 800 athletes attended the Irish championships which were held at the National Sports Arena in Dublin with teams drawn from the length and breadth of the island of Ireland. They were joined by fighters from England, Scotland and Wales and competitors from Spain, Germany, Italy, Denmark and Latvia.
Tierna fought her way through the preliminary rounds in the 12-to-13-year-old girls middleweight category with unabashed vigour, overpowering her opponents on the way to the finals.
Here she narrowly missed out on a championship title to Scotland’s Emmie McEwan.
Alexandria also put on an impressive performance during the five knock-out rounds easily winning a place in the final where she met England’s Maria May. Although the Belfast girl demonstrated her usual competitive spirit, she had to concede defeat to her English rival.
10 year old Alex Crowe with her runner-up championship medal which she clinched at the Irish Open International Karate Championships
At the end of last month the two girls both won championship titles at the Karate Scotland International Open Grand Prix in Motherwell. Here they met the top young fighters from Scotland, England and the Republic of Ireland.
Tierna and Alex train with Northern Ireland coach James Brunton, himself a former international medal winner, at Girdwood Community Hub and his dojo in Belfast City Centre.
He is delighted with the girls performance which he says reflects the way their attitude to the rigorous training regime both followed prior to the competitions.
“They have both demonstrated a love of karate training and are prepared to put in the work to achieve their competition goals,” he said.
“As they become more proficient in fighting techniques both girls have gained in confidence and fully embrace the competitive spirit needed to give them the edge in the fighting arena.”
Anyone wishing to learn karate with James can call him on 07513 837557 or visit www.irishkarate.com
