Medal haul after Euro championships
Ben lands a double gold at tourney in Poland
A martial arts gym based in Livingston and Bathgate has scored nine medals in a recent European Championships event in Poland.
Pupils of Grand Master Sutherland’s Martial Arts came home from the tournament in Strzegom with a tally of four gold medals, along with four silvers and a bronze at the IFT Korea HQ European Championships.
Ben Oliver led the way with two gold medals - in first degree patterns and +50kg sparring - while Todd Davison (-56kg sparring) and Daniel Dow (-62 kg sparring) also clinched European Championship gold.
The silver medals, which all came in sparring competitions, went to Michael Clark, Shaun Thomson, Connor MacDonald and Marcus Hendry.
It was double delight for Marcus, as he also tallied the club’s only bronze medal for first degree patterns.
Instructor Raymond Kaczmarek spoke of his pride and delight at the results, saying: “There were competitors there from 13 countries, including the likes of Poland, Russia, England and Lithuania, which are big taekwondo nations so to get the results we did is a fantastic achievement.
“I’m delighted for the boys because they put hours upon hours of hard work into taekwondo and they were great. To get so many medals at such a prestigious tournaments speaks volumes about their ability.”
He added: “The boys were all aged between 13 and 16 and are black belts who have been with us since they were four-years-old in our Little Ninja programme.
“They all have an incredible passion for taekwondo and they deserve the success they had in Poland. It has rounded off a great year for them.”
To find out more about Grand Master Sutherland’s Martial Arts, including how to get involved, visit their website at www. fitnessmartialsarts.co.uk.