After claiming two bronze medals at the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Junior World Championships in July, we are thrilled to announce that Lara Spajic (Year 9) has added a bronze and silver to her growing collection at the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Junior European Championships!

Held this past weekend in Wolverhampton, Lara competed against high level competitors in Gi and No-Gi in what was only her third major tournament after claiming a silver medal in the British Open and two bronzes at the Worlds.

The level of combat skill at these Championships was of the highest order. Every match was competitively fought where Lara is fighting against reigning champions and new stars from all corners of the globe.

On day one, Lara competed in the tradition Gi, the uniform of jacket and drawstring trousers with a coloured belt, similar to those in Judo and Karate. Another semi-final, another long drawn out battle, but Lara lost on points in the dying seconds of the contest - collecting the bronze medal.

The following day, Lara fought in the semi-final against the World No-Gi number two. In an extremely tough and technical contest, Lara made it through to the final against the Pan-American Champion. The semi-final had taken so much out of Lara that she had to settle for a well-earned silver.  

Lara reflected on the competition: “These European Championships were as tough as the Worlds. I am happy with two more medals and especially pleased to have made it to the final of a major tournament. The silver is really nice - but a gold medal is still the dream.”

We are so proud of Lara and how she managed to train and compete at such an elite level, alongside her other commitments. We hope Lara’s martial arts journey will continue to inspire many students to take up self-defence classes.