I’ll be honest, I was a little apprehensive heading into this event.
For some of our team, this was a big step up. A few had never competed in this style of event before, and as a club, it has been around ten years since we last entered a WKO Open.
So to take just eight fighters and finish 6th overall as a team is something I’m incredibly proud of.
The standard was high. Some of our fighters were up against champions, world champions, European-level competitors and very experienced opponents. Naturally, there were nerves. That is part of the journey.
But what I saw throughout the day was not just medals.
I saw heart.
I saw courage.
I saw growth.
I saw young people stepping outside their comfort zones and proving something to themselves.
Jayen had a difficult start to the day emotionally, but he showed brilliant resilience. He picked himself up, refocused and went on to deliver a fantastic performance, coming away with:
🥇 Gold – B Class K1 Light -28kg
🥇 Gold – C Class K1 Light -32kg
🥈 Silver – B Class K1 Light -32kg
Zavien lost his first bout in the semi-final, but instead of letting that ruin his day, he came back stronger. He battled through to earn bronze, then later entered another category and met the same opponent again in the final. This time, he turned it on and produced a brilliant fight, earning himself silver.
🥈 Silver
🥉 Bronze
The Corbett brothers once again found themselves with tough draws. They always seem to get them. But what I love is that they never back away from a challenge. They listen, learn and keep improving. They are still so young, and watching their development year after year is genuinely brilliant.
Mehran was outstanding. In his first K1 Full Contact fight, he secured a stoppage in just six seconds. Yes, six seconds. He then later stepped in against George, who I was told is the current WKO World Champion. Mehran stayed sharp, composed and clinical throughout the day, earning gold with a superb performance.
🥇 Gold
Tom had an incredibly tough day, with his asthma causing real problems. Fighting is hard enough when you are at 100%. Competing when your breathing is against you is another challenge altogether. But Tom dug deep, battled through and came away with silver.
🥈 Silver
Emilie produced the best performance I have seen from her. Her knees were landing, her spin kicks were landing, her switches were landing, but most importantly, her confidence was landing.
Over the last few events, we have worked hard on her movement and defensive awareness. Today, she showed exactly what she is capable of when she believes in herself.
Sometimes the biggest battle in this sport is not the opponent in front of you. It is the voice in your own head.
Today, Emilie won both.
🥇 Gold
Fyn had a busy day, with fight after fight after fight. He won gold in K1 with a first-round stoppage, then went straight into boxing and won gold again with a solid performance. He then went back into K1 against Harley, who he has now fought three times this year. Fyn has won one, Harley has won one, and this time Harley edged it on a majority decision.
Could it have gone differently if Fyn had not just come off back-to-back fights? Maybe. But that is open tournaments. You never quite know when you are fighting next.
No excuses. Just experience gained and another fantastic performance.
🥇 Gold – K1
🥇 Gold – Boxing
Tilly found herself up against an extremely experienced opponent, a world champion from a few years above her age and experience level. Not exactly the easiest draw in the building.
The fight was level after round one, but emotions got the better of her. Even so, I could not be prouder. Stepping into the ring against someone of that calibre takes serious courage. She will learn from it, grow from it and come back stronger.
No doubt whatsoever.
Felicity had to wait around all day, only for her original opponent to pull out at the last minute. As a novice fighter, she then had a choice: go home, or step in against a girl from Holland with around ten fights of experience.
Most people would have politely declined.
Felicity basically said, “Yeah, go on then.”
That attitude alone deserves respect. She stepped up, gave everything and came away with silver. The result almost does not matter. The experience she gained will be priceless.
🥈 Silver
A massive thank you to Owen and Jake, who helped all day with warming fighters up, keeping everyone organised, getting people where they needed to be and helping the day run smoothly. Events like this are a real team effort, and having good people around makes a huge difference.
Final results:
🥇 7 Gold
🥈 6 Silver
🥉 2 Bronze
6th overall as a team from just 8 fighters
Am I proud of the medals? Absolutely.
But I am even prouder of the courage shown. We had fighters taking on champions, world champions and European-level opponents. Nobody hid. Nobody backed down. Everybody stepped up.
Most importantly, every single fighter left better than they arrived.
And that is the real win.
Super proud of every single one of you.
