Tennessee Randall: Welsh kickboxer targeting place in sport's history books
- Published
Tennessee Randall in the final at the European Championships in November 2022
Tennessee Randall has gone from being picked on at school to kickboxing world champion.
Now she hopes to make history in the sport by becoming the first British athlete to win European and world titles in two different weight categories.
After success at -56kg, Randall is looking to add a world title at -60kg to her European Championship gold.
"It's a weight that I definitely feel comfortable and feel strong at," she told BBC Sport Wales.
"Fighting at a heavier weight category is easier for me, I've got a lot of experience fighting at this weight.
"I was undefeated at -56kg so we definitely made the right move, but I feel it's time to step up and just try and take on some challenges, fight some new people."
Randall, from Llanelli, will be competing at her new weight in the World Championships in Lisbon in November this year.
It has been quite a journey for the 25-year-old, who started kickboxing at the age of seven, along with her older sister, after they experienced some bullying at school.
Randall's mother wanted her daughters to know how to defend themselves and found classes being run at the local leisure centre.
"I think she looked in the Yellow Pages, that's how long ago it was!" said Randall.
"She just looked under martial arts and that was what was available in our local area."
By the age of 11, Randall wanted to become more competitive and switched clubs.
"That's where my passion grew for it and when my dad started getting involved," she said.
"He's got a massive kickboxing background. He was Welsh champion, undefeated in full contact."
'If you keep at it, you will see results'
Tennessee with her dad Leigh after winning the European Championships
While it was Randall's mother who introduced her to kickboxing, her father Leigh Randall helped her develop her into the fighter she is today.
"I didn't see the potential in Tennessee [at the start]," he said.
"In fact we'd go to watch her and she was 100% effort, but probably the worst kid in the class technically. But she'd always listen.
"She stuck at it, she was a brave kid, always had a big heart and that's something you can't teach. Half the job was done, and the other half was down to us to develop, help her on her way."
Father and daughter are hopeful for the future when it comes to female participation in kickboxing.
"It's equal opportunities, I think at the recent European champs there was almost 50:50 participation between male and female," Leigh added.
"There is definitely a pathway for females in kickboxing, just as much as there is for men.
"We have a lot of people coming in here with confidence issues, worrying about the shape they're in or health-wise. Like any sport if you keep at it, you will see the results."
Tennessee is on a sports scholarship with Swansea University which supports her with her kickboxing training
Alongside competing, Randall has completed a Masters at Swansea University and is now in her second year of studying for a PHD.
She and her father run a gym in Llanelli where they teach a range of ages and abilities, including a female-only group set up in February.
"It's been really great to get a group of women together and teach them the fundamentals of kickboxing, they've been brilliant and they've picked up the sport so quickly," Tennessee said.
"You can see the massive progression they've had between the first week and the fifth week and it's just nice to get the girls together.
"They really enjoy themselves and you can see them bonding, so I'm really excited to see that progress further.
"Kickboxing provides you with so much confidence and it makes you feel really strong and you can do anything. That's what the women are looking for, just having that confidence to defend yourself."
The sport has been shortlisted for the 2028 Olympic Games, with the World Association of Kickboxing Organisations (WAKO) recognised by the International Olympic Federation.
"The Olympics are the pinnacle, kickboxing definitely belongs in the Olympics," Leigh said.
"Kickboxing would be a great spectacle at the Olympic Games."
GB fighters unable to attend European Games
Randall could have been gearing up for June's European Games in Poland.
However, she cannot compete because she would need to be registered by the British Olympic Association (BOA).
The BOA will not register athletes for sports that are not going to be at the next Olympics, which take place in Paris next year.
"I really wanted the opportunity to contribute and really showcase full contact on the world stage," said Tennessee.
"We've done what we're meant to do, and it's just been completely taken away from us now."
Multiple efforts were made by WAKO and local MPs to allow the British athletes to take part, but seven British athletes who had qualified will not be able to compete in Poland.
"We are very resilient martial artists. We're used to to having to pick ourselves back up," Tennessee added.
"It's a minor bump in the road in terms of the bigger picture. Of course it's not ideal, but we've still got the World Championships to look forward to."
BOA spokesperson Scott Field said the organisation's constitution can only recognise sports which are currently on the Olympic programme.
"The reason membership is important is that particularly for the BOA, we hold those member bodies to a very high standard," he said.
"Especially in respect of good governance, that is incredibly important to us, and also in respect of national anti-doping policies in particular.
"WAKO GB, as I understand it, is not part of the UK anti-doping assurance framework which we require all sports to be part of, and compliance with that is absolutely critical to Team GB."
The BOA says it has been in communication with WAKO since January.
"From the BOA's point of view, we've never set an expectation non-Olympic sports can attend as part of Team GB, any event," Field added.
"Our communication has been consistent throughout, albeit I recognise that's clearly disappointed the sport and the athletes.
"I think it's very, very important going forward the organisers of such events, and indeed we will talk to the European Olympic Committees (the organisation that has created and runs the European Games). We need to talk to them to ensure this kind of situation doesn't arise in future."