A BRADFORD grappler has won a Catch Wrestling World title in his first attempt at the University of Bolton Stadium.

Greengates’ Brett Hawthorn emerged from a talented pack of competitors to win the 65kg weight category.

The former St Bede’s pupil is a member of Bradford Amateur Wrestling Club and has previously won a Commonwealth bronze medal in Olympic-style wrestling.

Catch wrestling is a classical hybrid grappling style combat sport which dates back in Britain to the 1870s and was popularised by wrestlers at travelling funfairs.

In Olympic freestyle wrestling individuals win by either pinning or submitting their opponent, while in catch wrestling there are no points involved and the bout goes on for 10 minutes, with locks, holds and armbars, all allowed.

Hawthorn, 28, was delighted with his victory and hopes now to gain success in another form of combat sport.

He said: “I enjoyed it, I just need to keep my momentum.

“I hadn’t trained in it before. I spoke to a friend who was runner-up in 2018 for a few weeks and he went over the rules and different required mindset.

“I’m getting to the later stage of my career now so I am trying to gain as much experience in a range of different sports.

“I have put wrestling on the back burner and want to focus on MMA in the future to see how high I can go.”

The featherweight is from a historic family in wrestling going back 40 years with Brett’s dad, Jimmy, playing a crucial role in gaining exposure to the sport.

Brett said: “There aren’t many competitions at this time of the year as it is the end of the season for freestyle wrestling, and I got a call about four weeks before the event from competition organiser Andrea Wood - daughter of the legendary Roy Wood who helped to keep catch wrestling alive in the 1920s - inviting me to take part in the Catch Wrestling World Championships.

“I got some help beforehand from Ian Jones, a Briton who has competed in America, in terms of practice, and had three bouts in the lightweight category (under 68kg).

“I was pretty happy with how the tournament went.

“My first opponent was a Brazilian Ju-Jitsu black belt, my second was a Sambo champion and my third was a combination of Sambo, Ju-Jitsu and wrestling.

“My only tricky moment was when I got pinned by the wrist for 30 seconds but managed to stand up.”

Hawthorn jnr started his wrestling endeavours at the age of eight, winning his first competition after six months training.

Since then he has gone on to win over 10 national and British titles as a junior and senior competitor, and various other international tournaments.

The Bradfordian went to the Commonwealth games in 2010 to represent Wales at the tender age of 19 and achieved his bronze after finishing fourth.

Despite taking a break from wrestling, Hawthorn took one last stab at Commonwealth fame back in 2017 but suffered a controversial disqualification.

He added: “In my first competition I was nervous and didn’t know if I wanted to do it.

“My dad told me you’re here now so you may as well give it a go and I won all four matches, winning the gold medal.

“I went to the Commonwealth Games in Delhi and it was one of the best experiences I have had in wrestling.

“You got treated like a king over there. For two weeks I got all my food, drink, tracksuits all catered for.

“I then didn’t wrestle for six years, came back, doing few little competitions then tried for the nationals, and I got to the semi-finals.

“It was a bit controversial with bad judging leading to me getting disqualified.

“They said I slapped him, but it was more of a push in my eyes.”

Whichever route Hawthorn chooses to take in the final phase of his career, Bradford can be proud of its wrestling son.