A talented young martial arts fighter has finished the year with no fewer than three championship titles to his name.
Luke Coull (16) was recently crowned the K1 Junior Scottish National Champion at the Scottish National Poomsae Championships in Grangemouth on November 17.
Luke Coull proudly shows off his K1 Junior Scottish National Poomsae Champion’s medal.
The Buckie High student has added this triumph to his gold medals from the British Taekwondo National Poomsae Championships in Kettering on November 3 where he emerged victorious as British National Poomsae Champion in the K1 Junior Male and Junior Pair categories.
Luke’s dad, Mike Coull, said: “Luke’s just over the moon to become the K1 Junior National Champion, especially after his gold medals from the British Taekwondo National Championships.
“It’s the perfect end to the year for him.
“He’s a very modest lad and when he goes to a competition he’s very much like ‘We’ll see how it goes’. It’s all about how you perform on the day, you have to turn up and do your best.
“It’s good to see him progressing like this. Getting each of these titles has been a fair old battle. It’s a very pressurised environment as he’s up against top athletes. There’s no place to hide.”
There was a double gold for Luke at the British Taekwondo National Poomsae Championships.
Luke was also in Scotland team action at the London International Poomsae Championships held at Lee valley Athletics Centre where he won a bronze medal.
Away from the demands of competition Luke has been helping older sister Cara with her community-based, not for profit Eclipse Taekwondo which is based at Buckie Community High School gym halls. He has been helping some of the younger students progress in the sport and work towards their certification.
Cara herself has been among the medals of late, securing a bronze under-30 female team section at the British Taekwondo National Poomsae Championships.
The club tasted further success at the Scottish National Poomsae Championships in the shape of Billy Wilson, who claimed a National title in his first competition as K3 peewee (white and yellow belts age nine-11).
For more information about Eclipse Taekwondo, visit their Facebook page.
Going through his paces at the Scottish National Championships.
For Luke himself, the new year will see him working hard to trade in his current red belt for a black one.
Martial arts is not Luke’s only forte, however. During the summer, he competed at the Triathlon Scotland National Aquathalon Championships at Loch Lomond. He was the under-20 male Scottish National Champion. The event comprised 750m swim in the Loch followed by a 5k run.
Taking the top podium place at the Triathlon Scotland National Aquathalon Championships.There was a bronze for Luke at the London International Poomsae Championships.