Photo - Lara's medal haul

After claiming a bronze and silver medal at the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) Junior European Championships during the autumn term, we are delighted to announce that Lara Spajic (Year 9) has added a gold medal to her impressive collection at the English Open BJJ Championships.

Held this past weekend at the University of East London, the event is the highest-ranking tournament in the UKBJJA calendar. It's a really special competition and arguably the most well attended event of the year given that both juniors and adults compete.

This was Lara’s fourth major tournament of 2022 where she picked up medals at the British Open (Silver), the Worlds (two Bronzes) and the Europeans (Bronze and Silver). This Gold brings the tally to six medals.

A member of Kraken Academy in Bedford, the yellow belt BJJ star said: “The English Open was the last chance to win a Gold this year. All the competitions have been really tough but this medal was the sweetest.”

This was Lara’s first year of competing in BJJ and she faced some of the best martial artists in elite junior combat sport. Lara hopes she can inspire other girls into learning some form of self-defence.

We are so proud of Lara and look forward to following her flourishing BJJ career.