JESS Bate says her medal-laden performance at an international event was ‘beyond her wildest dreams.’

The Orford karateka was one of several Cheshire Martial Arts Centre team members to represent England at the eighth World Union of Karate-Do Federations (WUKF) European Championships in Italy.

And the 20-year-old third Dan returned home with gold medals in the Junior, 18-20 years Individual Female All Styles Kata and Senior, 21-35 years Individual Female All Styles Kata categories.

She also scooped bronze in the Junior 18-20 years Individual Female All Styles Open Kata.

“It has been a long time coming and it took a lot of work, but I still can’t believe it,” she said.

“I was hopeful of doing well, but to win two golds and a bronze was beyond my wildest dreams.

“It has been my absolute dream to stand on the podium at a European Championships and now I’ve finally done it.

“It feels like all the hard work has been worthwhile.”

Bate, a former student of Birchwood Community High School and Priestley College, has been training under Cheshire Martial Arts Centre chief instructor Paul Graham since she was 10-years-old.

She also competed well at the world championships in Dublin earlier this year, coming third in the all styles kata and fourth in the open kata.

She fits in training around studying Sports Science and Management at Loughborough University.

Bate also expressed her pride in the achievements of her clubmates, including 10-year-old Joel Eccleston who can also call himself a European champion after he won gold in the Individual Children’s Kata as well as a bronze in the Individual Boys Kumite.

“I study full-time at university so it’s tough to fit the training in most of the time,” she said.

“I took the summer out and trained really hard for these championships, so it’s great to see it pay off.

“I’ll be a senior at my next competition so I’ll carry on training as hard as I can and see what happens.

“As a club, we’ve done so well. We only took a small team so I’m extremely proud of everyone who competed.”

Ben Hutson-Redfearn was another member of the Orford-based martial arts centre to medal in Italy as the 16-year-old took silver in the Cadets Individual Male Shitoryu Kata.

Eight-year-old first Kyu Ben Booth also came home with a silver medal in the Individual Children’s Kata.

Graham, who is also head coach of Shukokai Shito-Ryu Karate Alliance (SSKA) England, put into context just how well the club members had done.

“It’s a massive achievement for the team,” he said.

“We took a team of 14 competitors, so to come back with so many medals is fantastic.

“I’ve worked with all of them for years so to see them develop makes me very proud.

“Jess has been with me since she was ten and she deserves this for all the hard work she’s put in.

“There is a great feeling around the club at the moment and it’s shown other members that it can be done with hard work.

“We don’t get any funding from Karate England so none of this would be possible without the help of the parents.”