7th October 2019

Chloe Roberts is the new Junior European Champion as British athletes finished the three-day meeting in Spain with a total of three medals.

The Stoke on Trent fighter struck gold by defeating Turkey’s Isil Zafer 13-11 in the final of the -59kg division.

Teammates Sharissa Gannaway added a second silver to her second place at the 2017 championships while there was silver too for Alex Foster.

Roberts, who reached the final after landing a 19-13 win over Croatian Iris Dinkovic in the semi-final, said: “When I won the final I was so full of emotions.

“It felt like a dream. I got so emotional and it was amazing looking up and seeing my entire team cheering for me.

“It was an amazing experience. In fact, to date, the best moment of my life.

“My fights went really well and I ran through a game plan with my coach before each one.

“The fighters I came up against were awkward so I had to adapt at times. But I stuck to my game plan throughout all four.”

Roberts is now targeting a step up into the senior ranks. “Next year will be the first time I am able to do senior tournaments so hopefully I can add another medal to my bag. But to do that I have to get back to training and put in the work.”

Altofts-based Foster was denied a gold medal of his own after losing to Serbia’s Stefan Takov in the final of the -73kg division.

“When I was on the podium if someone had told me at the start of the year I would be winning a silver medal in a new weight category at the European Championships, I would be more than ecstatic,” he said.

“I felt grateful for all the support I received from the coaches and the team. And I was happy to be given this opportunity.

“At the start of the competition my aim was just to relax and enjoy the competition without putting too much pressure on myself,” explained Foster.

“The Final came in quick succession after my semi-final and I faced a very tough player in Takov and just lost out on a gold,” he explained.

“But I felt I performed to the best I possibly could and was proud to be standing on the podium.”