Helsby boy dreams of Olympic success after being named British Champion in Taekwando

Jul 28 2011 by Rachel Flint, Chester Chronicle

Helsby boy dreams of Olympic success after being named British Champion in Taekwando

A SPORTS-MAD schoolboy is kicking and fighting his way towards his big Olympic Gold dreams.

He may only be 10-years-old but James Robinson, of Cambridge Gardens, Helsby, can take out adults and teenagers twice his size with just one kick.

Now after battling his way past hundreds of mini marshal arts superstars, James has lifted the gold trophy and been named the Peewee British Champion in tae kwon-do.

But despite still studying at Helsby Hillside Primary School, James believes that his fight has only just begun, dreaming of one day competing against some of the best athletes in the world at the Olympic Games.

He may be too young to compete in the 2012 London Olympic Games but the 10-year-old hopes to soon be standing on the podium holding a gold medal for Great Britain as a Olympic champion, and owning his own tae kwon-do school.

James’s proud parents Simon and Jayne, who supported their son at the championship held in Manchester on June 19, said that he was given a heroes welcome by his school classmates.

Simon, who dedicates his evenings and weekends to driving his son to training and competitions all over the country, said: “I am obsessed with it, but his mum does not like the idea of seeing her son getting kicked in the head.

“She came along this time and she just couldn’t believe it. He did so well, we are extremely proud of him.”

Simon said that his sport-mad son had hoped to travel to London to watch his heroes compete at the Olympics but that the ‘astronomical price’ of tickets means they will be watching it on TV at their Helsby home instead.

Simon added: “He wanted to go and watch the games, to see his heroes in action, but it would have cost about £500 the tickets were just astronomical.

“We will be watching it at home, his hero is world number one and British Champion Aaron Cook so we will definitely be watching that match.”

Encouraged by his dad, James started learning tae kwon-do when he was just seven years old, now three years later he trains three nights a week at the Olympic tae kwon-do Centre, Wirral and follows a strict diet to maintain his fight weight.

Simon said: “He loves it. I always said that I do not believe in someone starting something and then packing it in, I said that to him from the very beginning.

“Now he is only 10 and he is hoping to start his own club, which is a big dream for someone his age.

“How many kids have their red belt at his age, he only has to get his red-black tag and then, by the time he is at high school, he will have his black belt. That is a massive achievement, we are incredibly proud of James.”