A 14-year-old taekwondo athlete has taken a big step towards a professional martial arts career after being offered a place on the Great Britain Development Squad.
Ellie Cain, from Brecon, was offered the place on the prestigious national programme for the sport after her coach put her forward for the scheme.
The athlete then attended a training day in May, before completing the two-stage application earlier this summer.
The programme, which will take place at the National Taekwondo Centre in Manchester, is to identify, recruit and develop athletes who demonstrate potential to succeed at senior world and Olympic Games.
Ellie, who is a student at Brecon High School, will travel up to Manchester every other weekend to take part in the programme.
In addition to domestic training opportunities, for some of the squad further overseas training camps designed to challenge an athlete’s ability to adapt and perform outside of their normal training environment will also be available.
Ellie’s mum Kate said: “Ellie has worked extremely hard for this opportunity. She’s been kickboxing since she was six years old and she’s always been so driven with everything she does.
“We’re all really proud of her and very excited for her to get started in the taekwondo development squad.”
Ellie has mainly been training at two clubs to develop and hone her skills - Devils Martial Arts, for her kickboxing skills, and Taekwondo Cymru.
One of Ellie’s biggest idols is Welsh taekwondo athlete Lauren Williams.
Lauren, who also hails from Devils Martial Arts, won her third consecutive European championship Gold medal in 2019 and won a silver medal in this year’s Tokyo Olympic Games.
To help with accomodation and travel costs to Manchester, Ellie’s family are appealing to any local businesses who would like to sponsor the athlete for the next stage of her taekwondo journey.
If you are interested in this sponsorship opportunity, please email [email protected]