Leitrim Muay-Thai fighters shine at European Championships
Carrick-on-Shannon Morakot Muay-Thai brought home two gold, two silver runner-ups and three bronze from the Amateur European Championships in Wales.
Last month, Carrick-on-Shannon Morakot Muay-Thai sent a squad of seven fighters to compete in the Amateur European Championships in Wales.
The team participated from November 8 until November 11 achieving an impressive haul of two gold European Championships won by Thomas Moran and Adam Meaghan, two silver runner-ups and three bronze.
Reflecting on the team's success, club manager Stíofán Ó Murnáin said: “We were hoping for a good outcome but we knew being a European Championship, nothing was guaranteed.” He added, “There was no participation trophy, everyone had to work for it to come back with something and they enjoyed the experience over all.”
The team of seven ranged from 10 to 24-years-old, with two fighters competing in their first ever matches.
“It was a great confidence boost for them all,” Stíofán said.
To help fund the trip, the club organised a GoFundMe campaign in August. The fundraiser was very successful, leaving the group to pay only an additional €400-500 collectively to cover the remaining costs.
“It was absolutely fantastic especially as November is still close enough to Christmas, the fundraiser was a great help.”
The students of the Muay-Thai club, all of whom are local to Carrick-on-Shannon and Roscommon, remain committed to their training and hard work. The team is now focusing on their new goals, including Baltic Cups and the World Championships.
“We’re going to be aiming towards two of the Baltic cups this year. There’s a couple of tournaments around Lithuania, Turkey and then there’s the world championships,” Stíofán explained.
The clubs performance in Wales exceeded their expectations, and the group is determined to keep pushing themselves to achieve even greater success.