Tennessee Randall - WAKO European Kickboxing Champion

The athlete on the rise! A huge congratulations goes out to our very own student, Tennessee Randall who has just won the WAKO European Kickboxing Championship FINAL in Turkey. An exceptional example of a TASS dual career athlete at Swansea University.

Tennessee has been kickboxing since she was 7 years old, started competing at 11 and the rest is history. Tennessee has had many successes in the sport and her weight category including:

• 2 times WAKO World Champion in full contact fighting (-56kg).
• 2 times WAKO European Champion in full contact fighting at two different weights (-56kg & -60kg).

Having managed to complete her MSc and now studying for her PhD alongside her training and competitions, Tennessee has been working closely with the team at Sport Swansea to ensure she has all the support required to compete. Tennessee said:

“The team at Sport Swansea have been really supportive. They check in with me regularly and make sure I’m doing ok, and that I’m managing everything with my training and studies. It’s nice to have someone to ask if you’re ok and it’s important to check in, so that’s really lovely.

After having to take some time out from competing due to the covid pandemic, Tennessee continued her training and carried out online coaching for her kickboxing club through zoom. However, this did not hold her back. In 2021, following the pandemic, Tennessee smashed the World Championships, feeling motivated to defend her world title after two years of not competing.

Talking about her win at the 2022 World Championships, Tennessee said:

“Going back to the world championships in 2021, it was the first tournament back and there were still many covid restrictions in place. Initially we weren’t even allowed to be in the venue to spectate and had to wear masks. But this year, it was back to normal; the atmosphere was amazing, and the team was so supportive. We all support each other!”.

Tennessee has been extremely determined throughout her sporting career. Kickboxing has made her resilient in all aspects of life, with the losses she experienced driving her to train harder to reach that all important gold.

By medalling in the 2022 European Championships this year, Tennessee has qualified for the European Olympics Committee (EOC) which will be held in Poland in June 2023.

“If you give up, your chances of succeeding are going to be 0! But if you get up and try again, there’s a good chance you might succeed” – Tennessee Randall.

We are extremely proud to be supporting Tennessee and to have such an inspirational sportsperson on our TASS programme. We wish Tennessee every success as she continues to compete and inspire new cohorts of Sport Swansea student athletes.