ELLEN Holder was a medal winner at the Ippon Trophy event in Belgium.

Holder, 10, was selected by the British Judo Council for the event and picked up a bronze in Antwerp.

Facing girls up to three years older and considerbaly heavier, the Lea Judo Club youngster held her own.

She said: “Fighting much bigger girls was tough, but the whole experience was brilliant.

“I loved getting to know other members of the national squad. I had to fight in the U13s category even though I was 10.

“It’s my birthday three days before Christmas, but if I’d turned 11 a fortnight later, in 2013, I would have been in the U11s where the competitors weren’t so enormous.”

Her Lea Judo Club coach Mike Allaway said: “Ellen did supremely well to be selected for Antwerp.

“To win a bronze medal in the U13s when she was 10 was a real achievement. We are all extremely proud of her.”

Meanwhile, the National Judo Championships for cadets and pre-cadets were held last weekend at the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield.

Saturday saw Devizes Budo Club’s Elliot Burbidge compete in the cadet age group U50 kgs category, returning with a seventh-place finish.

Sunday saw the Devizes club’s Charlotte Emery take to the mat in the Cadet U52 kgs category and again return home with a seventh place finish.

Clubmate Amy Oram was competing in the girls U44 kgs category, winning a bronze medal.