Eadaoin proud as punch after World triumph

LOCAL kickboxer Eadaoin McCrave realised her dream of becoming a WAKO World Champion when she defeated south African Carla De-Wet in the Cadet 60kg light contact final at Citywest recently.

To compete in the WAKO federation is the highest achievement in kickboxing as it is the only recognised world body for kickboxing and the only legitimate world championships, with over 50 countries represented.

Twelve months ago Eadaoin moved to Tallaght Martial Arts to train under the guidance of coaches Dave Heffernan and Martin Bannon, which entailed at least three trips per week for training and additional travel for competitions north and south.

In preparation for the world championships Eadaoin also travelled to Budapest to fight in one of the prestigious world cup events, where she picked up first and second place finishes in separate weight divisions. But the long hours and commitment to kickboxing paid off for Eadaoin when she received her gold medal and world championship title.

Eadaoin’s preliminary round fight was against Aspasia Armakola from Greece. This was a tough start for Eadaoin, who was giving away a few inches of height advantage. However at the end of the fight Eadaoin was up on all three judges cards.

Next up was Slovakian Sarah Salonova and constant pressure from Eadaoin paid off 10 seconds into the second round when the fight was stopped.

A podium place was now secure. However, it was gold Eadaoin was after and in the semi-final on Thursday she defeated the tall Italian Francesca Oliverio 3-0.

The final was on Friday at 7pm against Carla De-Wet. This was no doubt the toughest fight, with constant pressure coming from the South African, but with quick movement and clever defensive sidekicks and punching Eadaoin clocked up scores on all the judges’ cards and kept up her record of having won all her fights 3-0.

Eadaoin knows all this wouldn’t be possible without the support she receives and after clinching gold she thanked her coaches Dave Heffernan and Martin Bannon from Tallaght Martial Arts and national team coaches Dave Heffernan and Jon Mackey.

She also thanked all her club mates in TMA who push her at training and help make her the fighter she is and the people of Dundalk for the all the good wishes that flooded her way.

She had a special mention for her family for all the time and expense they give up to support her in her sport.

The next competitions for Eadaoin are the Tallaght Open this coming Saturday and the Bristol Open UK on the 14th, 15th and 16th of October.