Lucas kick-starts new season in some style

STRABANE’S ‘Karate Kid’ Lucas O’Donnell has enjoyed a successful start to his 2022 season, which will conclude in the Autumn with a trip to Italy for the European Championships.

The talented 12-year-old brought 2021 to a close with a string of spectacular medal successes in Wales and Scotland and he seems to have picked up where he left off.

He resumed his competitive action in London where he was up against 44 other fighters, many of whom were brown and black belts in an ultra-competitive event, finishing a superb eighth in the process.

Then, on Saturday in Burnfoot, Co Donegal, at the UKF International against competitors from England, Scotland and Ireland, North and South, he again showed his class with a dominant display in his age group.

He picked up four gold medals in the parent and child kata advanced, individual kata, individual kumite and the 11-12 years team kumite. He also fought an age group up, in the 13-14 years kumite, claiming a silver medal in the process.

“He did really well,” beamed Lucas’s mum, Kerry. “It was a good competition.

“He fought brilliantly, especially in his first fight because he got off to a rocky start and was 3-0 down but turned it around to win 4-3.

“He was flying after that, his experience shone through after that.”

Next weekend, Lucas will travel back to Dundee where he enjoyed success last November in the Kanzen hosted event and he’s hoping for a similar outcome this time around.

After that, the Holy Cross College pupil will continue to train and compete, but his focus will be directed towards Italy in November for the European Championships. The youngster was to fight in the World Championships in Poland but that opportunity never materialised, much to his disappointment, due to Covid, which forced its cancellation in both 2020 and 2021.

And this year’s World’s will take place in Florida in July, which is prohibitively expensive, so his main target is Livorno and the European’s towards the end of the year.