Brother and sister Alfie and Esme Haycock are big hits in karate world

Both have proved successful in national and international competitions and are flying the flag for West Yorkshire in the sport of karate.

In November last year 14-year-old Alfie attended the European Karate Championships in Italy and enjoyed success when coming away with a silver medal for individual Kumite (fighting) and two bronze medals for Team Kumite.

More recently, this month Alfie took part in the World Union of Karate-Do Federations (WUKF) World Championships in Dundee, which was attended by more than 5,000 competitors, coaches and officials from 31 countries, and won another silver medal for Team Kumite.

Additionally, Alfie’s younger sister Esme Haycock, aged 10, has also started her karate journey in the last 20 months.

Esme progressed quickly and was selected for the Great Britain B-squad last October 2022 and attended European Karate Championships.

She was successful in her first international competition when she came away with a bronze medal for individual Kumite.

Last week, Esme also attended the World Karate Championships in Dundee and was successful again when winning a gold medal for individual Kumite, making her the world champion for her age group (10 years).

Following her success in the competition, Esme was promoted to the Great Britain A-squad with more big competitions to come.

Both Alfie and Esme train and compete for the Ippon-Do Honbu Dojo karate club in Middleton.