Dumbarton kickboxing star Maia Bisley makes history at European Championships

Dumbarton kickboxing star Maia Bisley made history after becoming one of the first British females to win four medals at a European Championship.

The 13-year-old Dumbarton Academy pupil took success in the points fighting, light-contact and kick-light categories at the showcase event in Istanbul – earning her a call-up to Kickboxing GB’s older cadets, who won the teams section.

That meant that Maia and GB team-mate Summer Harvey made history as the first two females to ever win four golds at a European Championship - putting them in an elite group with 14-time world champion Elijah Everill, the only other British fighter to achieve the quadruple.

And mum Kim said that she couldn’t contain her emotions, as she watched on YouTube from the family’s Glasgow cafe.

Kim told the Lennox: “I couldn’t put into words how emotional I was. I was so nervous all week.

“What she’s achieved is beyond everyone’s wildest expectations. To see what she’s done at 13-years of age is remarkable.

“She’s still the youngest in the age category, and we had absolutely no expectations for 2023.

“Because Maia won silver last year at the World Championships then she was determined to win a gold. She’s been training so hard and managed to come away with all three and help the GB Team win the teams event was phenomenal.”

The quadruple was only possible after a stunning last-gasp spinning head-kick in the points section took a clash to extra-time, as Kim explained: “In the points competition she found herself 6-0 down in the first round to a girl who is the German number one.

“Sometimes she can get caught cold in the first few seconds, but to go 6-0 down to an older and taller fighter was daunting for us watching.

“We knew it would be a hard fight, but