Martial arts stars from Crowborough have put the town on the map after scooping medals – including a gold – at the European Taekwon-do Championships.
And congratulations to Gaby Lear, our very own European Champion!
There were no fewer than five members of Crowborough’s Vision Taekwon-do Club representing England at the championships which were held in Sarajevo. They were among almost 900 black belts from 32 countries taking part in the 4 day event.
The Vision club competitors were representing England across all age ranges, Pre-Jnr, Jnr and Adult.
And there was a magnificent gold for Gaby Lear who won in the Pre-Jnr Female 1st-2nd Degree Pattern to become European Champion with a 30 strong category.
Meanwhile Dexter Williams brought home bronze in the Jnr Male 75kgs+ Sparring against some huge opponents in the 25 strong category.
Ryan Hosking-Potton, Ruby King and Nick Edmunds didn’t medal this time round but are already preparing for the October World Championships in Porec, Croatia.
They were part of the England delegation which won a total of six golds, one silver and five bronzes.
Philip Lear from the club said: “We are so proud of all our Vision Taekwon-Do Crowborough competitors who train regularly at VMA Fitness in the high street.”
On social media, he had a special message for his gold-winning daughter, Gaby. He posted: “Words cannot express the incredible emotion I feel right now. I’m so proud of how Gaby prepares herself, the effort she puts into her training, how often she trains and then how composed she is when competes. She couldn’t do any of this without the amazing support from her super mum Ellie Lear. Proud dad.”