Cowdenbeath Karate Club's Elize Bauld wins world championship silver

Elize Bauld recently travelled to Venice to represent Scotland at the 13th World Junior, Cadet and Under-21 Championships, and came close to becoming her country's first-ever female world champion.

The talented 16-year-old, a member of Cowdenbeath Karate Club, competed in the Junior (under-18) Kumite Female -66kg category, where she narrowly lost out to Egypt's Mariam Tantawi, on a split decision after the match ended 0-0.

Elize, who in February won -61kg female cadet gold at the EKF (European Karate Federation) Cadet, Junior and Under-21 Championships, won through five rounds at the world event, in which fighters from 63 countries took part.

She won bouts against opponents from Brazil, South Africa, Greece and Tunisia before meeting the larger Tantawi in the evening's finals, whom the officials judged in favour of.

Elize Bauld's success at the competition added to her European gold medal won in February. (Image: Cowdenbeath Karate Club.)

Despite the disappointment of missing out on a gold medal, Elize was Scotland's, and Britain's, only medallist at the world championships, which was also the case when she was crowned European champion.

Elize, a self-funded athlete who was competing against fighters from other countries who are afford training and sponsorships to individual and team competitors, would have become Scotland's first world champion since 1986, when Pat Mackay was the last male to be successful, had she struck gold.

'Remarkable achievement'

However, one of her club coaches, Gordon Maxwell, who travelled to Italy to support Elize, told Times Sport: "Yes, disappointed in the final result, but very pleased for her. It was a fantastic overall performance.

"The nature of these events is that now it's probably a semi to full-time professional event, with most of the fighters coming from countries that full back and funds their fighters, while here in the UK, most fighters are self-funded, or have some funding if they belong to full-time clubs, but it's basically the 'bank of mum and dad' which allow them to compete at this level.

"The adults fighting in these events have now their own world and European Premier League events, held in cities throughout the world, which are huge with TV and sponsorship money available.

"But, in the UK, karate is basically still mainly a hobby for most and, again, the UK has only a handful of fighters in the top 50 rankings of these sections, given the low profile karate has in the UK as opposed to abroad.

"Against that background, it is remarkable what Elize has achieved from a small charity-based club in a small, mining community."

'Scottish karate's Katie Taylor'

Gordon continued: "Elize, however, came to us as a three-year-old, and has shown the drive and dedication to her sport, which is second-to-none.

"I am sure, given her training ethos, that she would have been a champion in any sport she engaged in.

"She is an elite athlete and we are going to try and bring her to all the local primary schools in the future to show them what karate is, and what can be achieved by anyone with the correct attitude and training.

"She is a credit to the whole area and her family. I am confident this is only the start for her - she may be Scottish karate's 'Katie Taylor'."

Cowdenbeath Karate Club trains at its own facility on Broad Street, and offer classes for all ages and abilities, with the only joining requirement being the commitment for the student and parents to attend.