A local karate prospect is continuing to make waves at both national and international level.

Becca Young, 20, who trains and coaches at Idle’s King’s Karate Club, is going from strength-to-strength within the sport and has future aspirations of becoming a medallist with England at World Championship level.

Young, who grew up in Eccleshill and now lives in Halifax, has recently worked her way into the world rankings and is now classed as a ‘top 100’ athlete for U21 level.

It comes after a stellar 2024 in which the up-and-coming star has taken home gold medals in various English and British Championships.

She has also impressed for England abroad, most recently in Austria.

Reflecting on a positive year for her career when speaking to the T&A, Young said: “I’m so happy with how this year has gone so far.

“I’m incredibly proud with what I’ve managed to achieve in winning the English and British competitions throughout the year.

“I always wanted to become an English and British champion; it’s been a dream of mine ever since I started karate at the age of nine, but you don’t realise how big it is until you’ve achieved it.

“At the start of 2024, my coach and I sat down to discuss my goals for the year but at the time it didn’t seem possible to achieve some of the things I have achieved this year, but we still wrote them down to make sure we got into the winning mindset.

“Being crowned English and British champion has surpassed my expectations, but we’ve worked so hard for it, and it feels amazing to be able to say that.

“Hopefully, it will continue to open up more doors for me, for example being in the top 100 of the world rankings, in the future.”

Young’s English title victory came on September 8, London, and she admitted that it’s a memory that will forever be remembered.

She said: “For me, although the win at the British Championships seems like a bigger scale event, the English title represented a huge milestone for me.

“For the English Championships, it’s compulsory that all of the England team enter it, so to come out on top knowing that all of my teammates were there, it felt extra special, and it made me feel like I belong at that level.”

Young added: “Of course, representing your country is a very special feeling too and I feel so privileged to be able to do that.”

The talented martial arts star also coaches the next generation of young karate students at King’s in Idle, which is something she’s eager to continue with.

However, she’s also targeting further sporting success down the line.

Young said: “In the short-term, I’d like to be selected to represent England at European or World level; I think that would be a great thing to achieve.

“Obviously, in the long run, I would love to medal at one of those World or European Championships; that would be the big dream for me.

“I need to keep working hard and then hopefully more opportunities will come my way.”

Karate is a self-funded sport, so if you want to donate to Becca and her journey, you can via this LINK.