KARATE fighters from across the county came away with a host of medals at the 11th WUKF European Championships in Odense, Denmark.

The squad from Beardsley’s Karate School, in Hereford, under Sensei Tom Beardsley (7th Dan) took part in the event, which was held over four days and attracted over 1,500 competitors from 24 nations.

The team consisted of: Josh Dodwell, a retained firefighter for Hereford and Fownhope fire stations; Charlotte Colbert, a Year 10 pupil at St Mary’s School; Leo and Sky Mcguigan, Year nine and Year eight pupils at Whitecross School, who were picked to represent Karate Wales.

Also from the club, Chris Rowan, Parachute Regiment, and Alexander Park Gym Instructor Danielle Dunn who both represented KKO England.

Leo and Sky McGuigan produced excellent displays reaching fifth place in their individual kata events, whilst Dodwell and Colbert both reached fourth place for individual kata and then went on to both gain bronze medals in their fighting categories, for Karate Wales.

Meanwhile, Dunn and Rowan fought their way to a team gold each as well as a silver and a bronze in their individual fighting events respectively.

After this event the team will be looking to learn from their experiences before preparing for the WUKF World Championships which will be held in Poland during July 2020.

To get their fighters to the European Championships the Hereford club held some fundraising events.

These were supported by local business and were organised by parents, raising a total of £2,500 towards the team’s expenses.