West Cork kickboxers crowned world champs

TWO West Cork kickboxers were crowned world champions at the WAKO Cadets and Junior World Kickboxing Championships last weekend.

Grainne Begley (West Cork Kickboxing Club) and Sean Brady (ION Kickboxing Club) both won gold medals in their events at the Citywest in Dublin.

Also, Grainne’s older brother, Sean, won a bronze medal to complete a fantastic weekend for West Cork kickboxing.

Fifteen year-old Grainne (pictured) defeated fighters from Great Britain, Israel, Slovenia, Poland and Italy to claim her world title in her category. She has also created a unique bit of history as the Bantry teenager is the first Irish fighter to win a world title in the kick light category.

Grainne’s success means that West Cork Kickboxing Club, run by Ian Kingston, has now won a phenomenal 11 WAKO world gold medals.

Meanwhile, Bantry’s Sean Brady, a six-time national champion competing in his first WAKO world kickboxing championship, was very impressive en route to his gold medal.