Judo champ Paige continues family’s success with big win
AN 11-YEAR-OLD from a family of judo champions has continued their success by winning the British Championship.
Paige Keane, 11, is now the British judo champion after winning both the under-48kg and under-44kg category at a tournament earlier this month.
It comes after she won the Welsh championships back in 2014, and she follows on from her dad Shaun, also a former Welsh champion and her granddad Anthony, who has won both Welsh and British championships in his time.
The family are from Aberdare in the Cynon Valley, and after St John the Baptist Church in Wales pupil Paige’s latest success, dad Shaun said: “To see her win that made me really happy and it was a huge deal to me. She’s excellent. A great little fighter. I’m a very proud dad.”
Paige was representing Pontypridd’s EGH Judo during the championships, which were held at Sophia Gardens in Cardiff.
Her win follows her other recent success, including winning the South Wales Schools Championship in Newport last month, as well as winning a third place bronze fighting for Wales in the Hermee International Judo Tournament in Belgium back in May. Paige started the sport when she was just six years old, and got into it through her father.
She wanted to try it out after seeing some of his old medals.
Shaun added: “She has come a long way in the last year alone. That’s because we changed her club and she’s been able to improve through better coaching I suppose.”
Three years ago, in June 2014, she won the Welsh crown in the under-28kg competition at Sophia Gardens on the same day as her dad triumphed in the under81kg section of the competition for people aged 30 and above.
They both follow on from veteran judo expert Anthony, who also picked up gold in the same Welsh Championships several decades ago.
Speaking about Anthony, Shaun said: “He comes to every fight and he always makes sure he’s there.
“He’s over the moon with Paige’s most recent win because it was his sport and now it’s come down a couple of generations.”