YOUNG karate champion, Joanne Phelan has won another gold medal, this time in the WUFK (World Union of Karate-Do Federations) European Cup.
The 23-year-old was crowned champion in the shitoryu kata event and then went on to win silver in the open kata which includes all styles of kata.
It follows her success in the senior female kata event in Romania earlier this year which also saw her bring home a gold medal.
At the latest event which also took place in Romania, Joanne represented Great Sankey based club, SSK England along with five other members of the club. Fellow LiveWire talented athlete scheme member, Annabel Mooney, achieved a credible fourth place in the 15-17 years category at the event.
It’s been a successful year for Joanne who lives in Whittle Hall. She also achieved fourth place at the WUKF World Championships in Dublin in June and was crowned double UWK National Champion last month in Sheffield.
Joanne has just been accepted onto the LiveWire talented athlete programme for the third year running.
Over the next year, she will continue to receive support and guidance from the scheme which offers one-to-one support for strength and conditioning programmes as well as advice on nutrition and goal setting.
Joanne said: “It’s been a great end to a really tough but successful year and to come home to the news I’ve been invited onto the talented athlete scheme at LiveWire for another year was just the icing on the cake.”
Steve Nelson, chief instructor of SSK Karate who has produced World and European Champions over the past three years, added “Joanne outworks her peers day in, day out and I feel she’s finally starting to get the results to show it. I’m really proud of her.”
