Keighley youngster Jamie Kidd has finally struck gold.

The eight-year-old Quest Taekwondo member won silver in February atthe Children’s International Taekwondo Championships after an outstanding perfornmance in the final against a Serbian, only going down 20-19.

The Hothfield Primary School student from Silsden was also runner-up in the Nottingham Cup shortly after, again losing narrowly 22-20.

However, Jamie put these narrow defeats behind him in the prestigious Dutch Masters in Holland, winning the final 3-0 after his opponent withdrew after the first round.

The competition consisted of over 700 competitors from around Europe, including teams from Holland, Great Britain, Belgium, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland and Denmark.

The organising committee also chose Jamie in their Top Ten Performers' award, due to his battling qualities and unwillingness to give up in his matches, despite being behind for most of his semi final.

Jamie, who is one of the elite athletes training with Quest Taekwondo in Keighley, Cottingley and Baildon, was coached by Rick Simpson, a black-belt 4th Dan from Silsden, who was delighted that Jamie continued his fine form from Germany to win in Holland.

Simpson believes that Jamie’s determination to overcome those defeats in February has spurred him on to train extra hard at classes, proving that you get out of practice what you put into it.

The next test for Jamie, along with Quest Taekwondo, will be the British National Championships, the largest domestic WTF (World Taekwondo Federation) competition in the United Kingdom.

Jamie will be joined by Quest’s other elite players, including in-form Silsden pair Natasha and Liam Burdock who both won gold in Scotland in May, as well as the battling Ellie Bowden of Cullingworth, Sam Finnigan of Keighley, Zak Spencer of Bingley and Jake Barnett of Baildon, all of whom have had success on the domestic stage this year.

Quest Taekwondo are currently looking for the next generation of athletes to follow the footsteps of Jamie, and will give new members a free lesson to see if they can adapt to taekwondo and see what their potential is.

For further information, contact Rick Simpson on 07977-065357 or visit www.questbradford.co.uk.