Charlotte McGuigan has become the newest British Junior Champion from Erne Wrestling Club.

Charlotte travelled to Peterborough, England last weekend to compete and returned with the gold medal in a tournament which showcased the best junior wrestlers from around Great Britain and abroad.

In fact, Charlotte faced a wrestler in the finals, who travelled to England from Canada.

A spectacular match where Charlotte had to keep her focus while the other wrestler battled hard to perform head and arm throws in attempts to throw Charlotte to her back. With her strong position, constant movement and adjustments, Charlotte prevented the Canadian from getting any points from the throw attempts. Instead, she counter attacked and scored the points, taking her opponent to the mat. Charlotte continued her scoring by turning her opponent to her back.

The ultimate object in Olympic Wrestling is to pin your opponent, flat on their back, for a fraction of a second. Matches are also won by scoring more points than your opponent over the two rounds. The tempo of the matches are kept at a very high level by the referee giving a warning for passivity then put on a 30 second clock to either score or lose a point to your opponent.

Charlotte spends at least three evenings per week training with Erne Wrestling Club to prepare herself for this incredibly tough sport. Learning about movement while developing balance, agility, strength and tactical awareness. Staying physically healthy and mentally strong are attributes that wrestling is known for throughout the world. Wrestling is a major sport in many parts of the world including the U.S.A., Russia, Iran, India and many more. In some of these countries, wrestling is the national sport.

Even with her success and time spent training for wrestling, Charlotte continues to be a stellar student, sings in a choir and plays the viola and cello. Charlotte is also part of the junior and intermediate Fermanagh Strings Orchestra. She is one of three sisters who all train and compete with Erne Wrestling. A definite star and great representative of the community, Charlotte is also a member of the newest Northern Ireland Ulster squad.

Coach Bruce Irwin of Erne Wrestling travelled over with Charlotte. He said: “Charlotte puts in the time and effort, always with great determination but really stepped up to another level in this tournament. She is a wonderful ambassador for our club, our community and our country.”

Coach Bruce continued: “Wrestling is a very unique sport in that it is really a worldwide sport for both males and females of all ages. Teams and individuals compete against each other but will also travel and train together to help everyone involved.

“We also preach that wrestling is a team sport with individual responsibilities.

“It’s up to the individual to do the things that they can to improve and to support their team to help everyone improve while enjoying what they do together. Respect yourself and respect others.”