Llanelli Star

RANDALL IS THE THE EURO QUEEN

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LLANELLI kickboxer Tennessee Randall has continued her dominance on the world elite stage since stepping up into the seniors category and has now been crowned the European champion having represente­d Great Britain in the recent European championsh­ips in Slovenia.

As a junior Randall won numerous internatio­nal, European and world titles in all three discipline­s and was a regular in the GB team.

Any concerns about how she would integrate into the seniors were soon quashed by her performanc­es in 2017 when she achieved success at internatio­nal championsh­ips and was crowned the Ring Sport Commonweal­th and WKU world full contact champion.

Randall, who fights out of WKO Kickboxing Academy in Llanelli, made a flying start to 2018 and further cemented her claim to being one of the best full contact fighters in the sport.

In January she competed with her team at the renowned Watford Open where she won two gold medals.

Her good form continued in February when she travelled to Croatia to fight in the Karlovac Super Fight Night against seasoned competitor Katlyn Konya from Sweden, a durable opponent who usually fights in a heavier category.

But Randall produced a worldclass display to win unanimousl­y in dominant fashion.

In March she travelled to Ireland for one of the biggest martial arts competitio­n in the world, the Irish Open, and she produced a number of fine displays to reach the final, which she won in front of a packed audience on the live fight night.

Her performanc­es resulted in her selection for the GB team at the European championsh­ips in Slovenia, where competitor­s were national champions in their respective countries.

She produced a number of worldclass performanc­es and progressed JAMIE Lewis reached round three of the William Hill Profession­al Darts Corporatio­n World Championsh­ip at Alexandra Palace in London after a hard-fought 3-2 win over Cody Harris of New Zealand.

Father-of-five Harris, who is ranked 154 in the PDC world rankings, made his debut in the championsh­ip last year. And he set up a clash with West Walian Lewis after causing an upset in round one by defeating world number 48 Martin Schindler of Germany.

Lewis, aged 27, set the championsh­ip alight last year by becoming the first qualifier to reach the semi-finals, where he was defeated by the legendary Phil Taylor, who has since retired. to the final in scintillat­ing fashion, giving her the opportunit­y to become the first female to win the full contact WAKO Europeans for Britain.

Standing in her way was the reigning European and world champion from Norway.

But Randall produced yet another dominant display, landing shots with incredible precision, and the reigning champion had no answer to the Llanelli girl’s movement, power, speed or accuracy.

When the bell rang at the end of the final round Randall ran to her corner to celebrate her victory with her coach Mark Watkins. Her father Leigh Randall was also selected as one of Great Britain’s coaches for the tournament.

Her performanc­es, which were broadcast via live links, gained plaudits from around the kickboxing world, which was further recognised when she was awarded the best female ring fighter at the tournament, just reward for years of dedication, commitment and sacrifice.

WAKO (World Associatio­n of Kickboxing Organisati­ons) is the world’s

The world number 29, who hails from Cardigan but now lives in Carmarthen, appeared to be sauntering to victory when taking a 2-0 lead in sets.

But 33-year-old Harris, from Auckland, staged a fightback to square the match before Lewis turned on the style in the deciding set, which he won 3-0.

The Welshman hit nine maximums and had an average of 92.32 in reaching the third round, to be played later this week.

Pontyberem’s Jonny Clayton, who is seeded 15th, begins his quest with a second-round match against either Dimitri van den Bergh or Chuck Puleo on Friday. Tennessee Randall after winning the European crown. biggest kickboxing body and is lobbying to have the sport introduced at the Olympics, hopefully for the 2024 games.

There are sponsorshi­p opportunit­ies for this world elite athlete, who is a full-time psychology undergradu­ate and also holds down a part-time job.

If anyone is interested in helping to support her preparatio­n, you can call 07947 675979.

WKO Kickboxing Academy Llanelli train on Mondays and Thursdays and hold classes for juniors and adults.

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