FOURTEEN medals were won by members of one local club as they represented their association and country in the WUKF European Karate Championships in Florence, Italy.
Emily Pollitt, co-owner of Koshido-Ryu Karate Club in Winsford, led her nine clubmates by example with three golds achieved for Kenshin Karate Organisation and England.
Cuddington's Morgan Hughes, Winsford's Rio Johnson, Sandbach's Kathryn King, and Lucy Beale, who travels from Birmingham twice a week to train with the group at The Den, were the others who got among the prizes, while there were some close calls for further medal successes.
Pollitt, who recently achieved her sixth dan, secured first places in the veteran women's 41-45 years kata (patterned moves) and kumite (fighting), along with team gold in the female veterans' 36 years and over category.
Hughes, competing in the senior men's 21-35 years section, bagged ippon bronze in kumite and ippon silver in the team event. With the slightly more prestigious ippon there is no room for error as the first player to one full point or two half points is the winner.
Johnson, who narrowly missed out on the top three in kata, won three medals in kumite in the junior men's 18-21 years band – individual bronze, plus silver and gold in two different team events.
Team silver and team bronze were achieved by Beale in separate competitions in the senior women's 21-35 years field.
Kathryn King's kumite silver and kata bronze came in the veteran women's 51-55 years grouping, while she also pocketed bronze in the female 36 years and over team kumite.
Her son Harry King, meanwhile, was pipped to the post in the senior men's 21-35 years kata and also contested the kumite discipline.
A last-second punch from his opponent ended her husband Mike King's hopes in the veteran men's 51-55 years kumite, but looked comfortable on the mats after a spell away from karate through injury.
Winsford-based Emily Pollitt's husband Keith, who competed in the veteran men's 51-55 years bracket, and his eldest daughter Katie Pollitt, a participant in the 16-17 years cadets, took part in kata.
Katie is said to have produced the performance of a lifetime and got through to the final six, but just missed out on the medals.
Keith also took part in kumite, reaching the quarter finals, but exited at the hands of the eventual winner of the category.
Koshido-Ryu Karate Club's youngest competitor in the event, Matty Jackson from Winsford, reached the second round of kata and reached new heights in his fights before bowing out to the eventual winner of the male 11-12 years category.
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