European Kickboxing Championships 2022
5 December 2022
Newcastle University student Nesta Baxter has won silver and bronze at the WAKO Kickboxing Senior European Championships 2022.
The European Championships were held Antalya, Turkey this year with 976 competitors from 39 countries in attendance. Nesta had been successfully selected to represent Great Britain following winning the National British Titles in February and succeeding at the National Team squad trainings and selections throughout the year. She was able to compete in two categories, a real achievement to be selected for two separate disciplines at a European level.
Nesta competed in the Senior Female -65kg Light Continuous and Senior Female -65kg Kick Light categories, winning the silver medal in the Kick Light and bronze in the Light Continuous.
Nesta had two preliminary rounds to compete in on the first day of the competition. Firstly, Nesta competed against an athlete from Hungary in the Light Continuous category, following an exciting match, Nesta progressed to the next round. The preliminary round for Nesta’s Kick Light was against an athlete from Bosnia Herzegovina where Nesta finished with a unanimous win and progressed into the next round.
In the Kick Light category quarterfinal, Nesta fought against an athlete from Turkey which was a tough fight but after a great performance, Nesta made her way into the semifinals. In the Light Continuous category, Nesta fought against an athlete from Spain, following another tough fight it was Nesta who won by unanimous decision allowing her to progress to the Semi Finals.
In the first semifinal, Nesta fought in her Kick Light Semi Final against an athlete from Lichtenstein, the fight was exciting and Nesta progressed to the Final with a unanimous decision. Nesta’s second semifinal in the Light Continuous category was against an athlete from Slovenia, after a close fight Nesta lost on a split decision and finished her Light Continuous category with a Bronze Medal at the European Championships.
The Final of Nesta’s Kick Light was held on the Friday against the Current World Champion from Hungary. The fight was great and Nesta gave her everything, but it was the Hungarian who finished with the win. Nesta came away with a well-deserved Silver Medal at the European Championships in her Kick Light Category.
Nesta, 22, said: “I’d like to thank my Coaches, my sparring partners and training partners for the excellent preparation ahead of the Championships. I’d also like to thank the fantastic Performance Sport Team at Newcastle University for all the support particularly with Strength and Conditioning. A special thank you to everyone who sent their support and well wishes. Finally, thank you to everyone who donated to help me attend the championships.”