Taekwondo: Airdrie teen in European medal haul

Apr 21 2010 by Colin Paterson, Airdrie & Coatbridge

Nicola Truesdale

A MONKLANDS martial arts ace has returned from a top competition with two bronze medals.

Nicola Truesdale captained Scotland’s junior female group at the European Tae Kwon-do championships in Italy.

The plucky 17-year-old led by example as she performed strongly during the competition to get among the medals.

Nicola picked up her bronzes in the patterns and special technique disciplines.

And she was unfortunate not to win a medal in sparring after her Czech opponent, who went on to win gold, defeated the Airdrieonian by a point.

The teenager, a TKD instructor, took part in the Scottish championships at the weekend and is now preparing for an international competition to be held in Edinburgh in May.

“I was happy with my bronze medals,” Nicola told the Advertiser. “Although it was disappointing to lose in the quarter-finals in the sparring.

“A lot of our team were taking part in the championships for the first time so it was great to see them do well.”

Nicola will move up to adult class in the summer when she turns 18 and is confident of making the Scotland squad which will compete at the Euros in Estonia in February 2011.

She added: “It will be a big step-up for me as I could be up against someone with loads more experience but I’ll be working very hard before then.”