Harriet Makes It A Hat-Trick (From Crewe Guardian)

Harriet Makes It A Hat-Trick

1:33pm Tuesday 9th February 2010

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HARD-hitting Crewe student Harriet Maddock has been crowned world champion in ladies kickboxing for the third successive year.

Proud Harriet is the undisputed kickboxing lightweight after celebrating her latest success in Italy during the Women’s World championships.

She fended off the challenge of girls from all over the globe in the group stages of the 17-19 year-old competition in Marina di Carrara, near the famous Italian city of Pisa, to progress to the knockout stages.

Harriet’s never say die attitude enabled her to knock out French and Italian fighters in the quarter and semi-finals before she tasted glory by beating her Italian opponent in the final.

Her achievement was even more remarkable this time because she landed gold medals in both the Continuous Fighting and Semi-Contact kickboxing categories whereas her previous victories were only in Continuous Fighting.

The 17-year-old sports development and fitness student has dedicated a large part of her life to kickboxing since she took up the martial art ten years ago.

She started out at the Staffs Kick Boxing Association at Audley and is now a key member of the Black Cobra Kick Boxing Academy in Hanley.

Harriet trains four nights a week, coaches other kickboxers at sessions every Wednesday night at Alsagers Bank and then competes herself in competitions up and down the country every Sunday.

She was first selected to represent the Great Britain women’s team in the 13 to 16 year-old age category in 2007 after her kick-boxing talents caught the eye of her academy coach who sent her to trials in Sheffield.

After impressing scouts, she was one of five women kick boxers chosen to represent the nation in her age group in the up-and-coming sport.

Harriet said: “In my first World Championships in 2007 I wasn’t expecting to win anything because I was nervous and didn’t know what to expect.

“I was still at school at the time so it was a real bonus to win the gold medal against some good fighters who were older than me.

“I won my next World Championship title on my sixteenth birthday which was a proud moment and then to win three in a row in two different categories was unbelievable.”

Mum Cheryl and dad John both travelled with her to the Italian championships where she put her skills to the test over the five day event.

Harriet has also competed in Austria and the Isle of Man and may have the opportunity to test her skills in a harder kick boxing challenge in America later this year.

John said: “We are very proud of Harriet. She has really taken to kickboxing and has already competed at events across the country.

“We were particularly proud of her when she won her second World Championship because to see her standing on a podium on her sixteenth birthday with the St George’s flag raised above her head brought a tear to the eye.”

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