Zaw Torley, a Year 8 student at The Webber Independent School, has been awarded Sport Milton Keynes’ Harry Hewitt Memorial Award for his achievements in taekwondo.
Zaw has been part of the British Taekwondo Poomsae (technical) National Team for the past two years and was selected to be part of the British Taekwondo Wider Cadet Squad at the start of 2019. Representing Great Britain at the European Taekwondo Poomsae Championships in Turkey in April of this year, Zaw was placed 5th in the under 14s team event, 8th in the under 17s individual freestyle event and 9th in the under 17s pair event. Zaw was the only British athlete sanctioned by British Taekwondo to compete in three categories across two disciplines of taekwondo at the European Championships and is currently the only athlete in the UK who is part of the National Team competing in all three disciplines of taekwondo - Poomsae, Freestyle and Kyorugi (sparring).
Throughout 2019, Zaw has achieved podium places at every competition he has entered in the UK and has competed in Europe six times this year, achieving podium places in Poomsae and a championship title at the German Open.
Most recently, Zaw became National Bronze Medalist at the British Taekwondo National Championships and is now ranked 3rd in the country in the under 14s -37kg weight division. Zaw also made history by winning the highest number of British National Taekwondo Championship medals in the same year - six in total including winning Gold in the under 17s male Freestyle category.
Zaw’s mother, Nyein Torley, commented: “We are very proud of Zaw and can't thank Mrs Marsden, the teachers and staff at The Webber Independent School enough, for their continued support.”
Zaw was presented with the Harry Hewitt Memorial Award at Sport Milton Keynes’ Sports Achiever of the Year awards on Tuesday 3rd December and now has his sights set on qualifying for the 2020 Taekwondo World Championships in Denmark and the European Cadet Taekwondo Championships in Estonia.