Amy Mangan from Killorglin (right) fighting for gold against England in kumite (sparring).
Ciaran Brennan from Killorglin (pictured centre) who received gold in his individual kumite category.
All Kerry competitors pictured together on the podium after competing in the WKA European Karate Championships held in Belgium last Friday.
The group that achieved a 2nd place finish in the team kata.
Young martial artists from Kerry brought back an impressive haul of medals from the recent WKA European Karate Championships that were held in Belgium last Friday, November 3.
The athletes were representing the Kerry Martial Arts School which was the only Kerry representative at the tournament and thus held the weight of the county on their shoulders, not that they let this pressure get to them though as evidenced by the medal tally below:
Ciaran Brennan from Killorglin came up trumps at the tournament as he won not one but two gold medals – one in his individual kata category and another in his individual kumite (sparring) category.
Liam Brennan, also from Killorglin, also left with his head held high after he secured a silver medal in both his individual kata and kumite categories. Rounding out the Killorglin connection was Amy Mangan (pictured in action above) who won two silvers medals, one in her kata category and another as well for kumite.
West Kerry, not to be left behind, was well represented as well as both Rio O’Keeffe and Greg O’Keeffe achieved podium finishes. Rio won gold in his individual kata category and bronze in his kumite while Greg also won gold for his kata and silver for his kumite.
Representing the county capital of Tralee meanwhile was Oisín O’Neill who won gold in his individual kata and silver in his individual kumite.
Finally, in the Team Kata section, Ciaran, Liam and Rio won a silver medal while Ciaran and Rio took home silver in the Pair Kata. Liam and Rio also took home bronze in the Pair Kata as well.
Speaking to The Kerryman, Sensei Charles Neri of the Kerry Martial Arts School said that having only travelled over with six competitors, they still managed to finish up with a tally of five gold medals, eight silver medals and two bronze medals.
“It was a very well run competition and we already can’t wait for the Ireland National Karate Championships on November 26. I think many from our school will represent Kerry,” he said.
