A Crowborough teenager has beaten off competition from around the world to be crowned a Taekwondo World Champion.
Gaby Lear, 14, won gold in the pre-junior Pattern section of the Taekwondo World Championships held in Croatia this month. She was also presented with the trophy for Overall Pre-Junior Female at the event for the most points accumulated in her age range.
Gaby was one of eight members of Crowborough’s Vision Taekwondo Club who were part of the 50-strong England team competing in the championships. A total of 1,500 competitors from 53 nations took part in the four day event.
There was also success for Crowborough’s Ellena Lobley and Ryan Hosking-Potton who won silver in the women’s pattern and silver in the pre-junior sparring events respectively – making them both Vice World Champions.
The Crowborough contingent amassed an amazing eight medals – helping England to a total of 18 and ninth place in the medal table. The Crowborough group was Nick Edmunds, Ellena Lobley, Ruby King, Dexter Williams, Oliver Wright, Eloise Jenkins, Ryan Hosking-Potton, and Gaby Lear.
There are 5 events at the World Championships: Patterns, Sparring, Pre-Arranged Sparring, Special Technique (flying kicks) and Power Test (board breaking). The competitors compete first as individuals and then teams on the final day.
The Crowborough medals were:
- Gold, Gaby Lear, Pre-Junior 1st Degree Pattern – WORLD CHAMPION
- Silver, Ellena Lobley, Female 3rd Degree Pattern, Vice World Champion
- Silver, Ryan Hosking-Potton, Pre-Junior Male, -45kgs Sparring, Vice World Champion
- Silver, Gaby Lear Pre-Junior Female, -48kgs Sparring, Vice World Champion
- Silver, Gaby & Ryan, Pre-Junior Pre-Arranged Sparring, Vice World Champions
- Bronze, Dexter Williams & Oliver Wright, Junior team Special Technique
- Bronze, Dexter Williams, Junior team Pattern
- Ellena Lobley, Female Team Pattern
A spokesperson for the Crowborough club said: “Our contingent had an extremely successful week. Not everyone had the results they were hoping for but we still saw some top draw performances and incredible amount of experience gained.
“The team spirit and the sportsmanship on the National Team was testament to them all and the hours of dedication in their training in the gym, training hall and on the track. We are proud of these results.”