Lukes strikes lockdown gold
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
THE lockdown has not prevented a young Buckie taekwondo enthusiast from claiming a gold medal – all from the comfort of his own home.
Luke (11) took the top spot in the Cadet Age 12-14 category at the first World Samjoko Won online open Poomsae championship hosted by a club in Buenos Aries, Argentina.
The talented youngster saw off stiff competition from competitors hailing from across the globe, including France, Spain, Costa Rica and the host nation, to name but a few.
Mum Gillian said: "Luke's really chuffed to have won gold, he never really expected to win it was just more for the fun of it.
"We saw it advertised on Facebook and decided to go for it.
"It was done to international standards although there were obviously allowances made for the circumstances.
"Luke and the other competitors could choose two patterns – range of movements – and were filmed performing them which were then uploaded onto the competition Facebook page.
"I think the organisers maybe got a bit of a surprise with the huge number of people who entered, so it took about a week for the results to come back. It was worth the wait, though!"
Young Luke, however is no stranger to competitive success and gold medals, his most recent triumph prior to the Argentina contest being in Glasgow this February. His last competitive outing was a trip down south to Harrogate in March not long before the lockdown was imposed. He had been due to travel back down to Harrogate in the first weekend of July but that now looks unlikely.
In normal times Luke trains with dynamic Taekwondo in Buckie but of late has been undertaking online training sessions via Zoom with Focus in Elgin
Enthusiasm for martial arts runs in the Coull family, with his sisters Cara and Isla both accomplished fighters in their respective categories.
More local sports here.
