Olympic hope for talent Kyla
KYLA Julien has been named in the GB Taekwondo fulltime World Class Performance Program and will represent Great Britain around the globe.
The 16-year-old, from Huddersfield, will be competing in the same category as two-time Olympic champion Jade Jones (57KG).
The youngster was previously a member of the Sport Englandfunded Development Talent Pathway Program, before recently transitioning into the full-time academy, based in Manchester.
The teenager’s previous medal success includes Presidents Cup in 2016, along with the Dutch, Luxembourg, Paris, Belgium and British Championships, winning gold for three consecutive years at these events.
In the most recent of her winning streaks, she took bronze at the prestigious Polish Open Championships in Warsaw.
A Dalton after-school club is where it all began for Julien. Aged just six, she attended a Taekwondo session based in the hall of her primary school.
“Weekly sessions soon showed, even at such a young age, the incredible natural talent of this aspiring youngster,” said Master Mosy, head coach of Premier Taekwondo.
Taekwondo rapidly became Kyla’s passion and when Premier Taekwondo opened its own full-time venue in Birkby, Huddersfield, she enrolled as one of their first members.
Julien trains 12 to 15 hours a week in preparation for tournaments. The offer of a full-time position on the squad was unexpected for Julien, who juggled training with revision for her GCSEs. She said: “It came as a bit of a shock and I wasn’t expecting it at all, to be honest.
“I’m extremely grateful for the opportunity, nonetheless, and can’t wait to get going! I’m so excited to see what the future holds.”
Master Mosy added: “Sad as it may feel to say goodbye to Kyla from all her Premier Taekwondo family, it’s absolutely fantastic to see her sacrifices, dedication, motivation and passion paying off.
“The hard work begins here and there’s a long way to go, but we are confident Kyla has what it takes to become our very own, homegrown, GB Olympic champion.”