Oxfordshire's Katie Franks became the ladies’ grand champion in her first full international as a member of the Tae Kwon-Do Association of Great Britain (TAGB) team.

The student, from the Wantage and Didcot club, achieved the distinction at the International Charity Tournament held in Alberta, Canada.

This was a huge two-day event, with lots of competitors from Canada, but also attracting teams from America, Britain and Australia.

On the first day, Franks secured a bronze medal in the pattern, having only decided to enter that category two days earlier.

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In the sparring competition, there was a little controversy due to the Canadian officials getting the scores muddled, and she ended up with a silver.

The day ended with Franks wiping the floor in the ladies division of the breaking techniques as she gained her first gold of the competition.

On the second day, she comfortably won the continuous sparring competition.

Franks then helped Britain’s three-strong ladies outfit to victory in the international team event.

Thanks to her medal haul, Franks was crowned grand champion, with fellow GB teammate Tim Chow taking the men’s prize.

Franks’ instructor, Martyn Dipper, said:“I’m obviously really pleased. We’ve put a lot of training and hard work in with Katie and clearly it’s paid off.

“She has shown real dedication and is now reaping the deserved rewards. We’ve seen just a small amount of what she’s capable of.

“We have a short time to celebrate and then back to training.

We’ve got more work to do in preparation of the next major international in Italy.”