After four months of training a chartered surveyor has won the Jiu Jitsu world championships in Las Vegas.

Tom Sietnieks from Ambrosden, near Bicester, took home the gold from this years Jiu Jitsu World Championships at the Las Vegas Conference Centre.

The 57-year-old, after arriving back in the UK at the weekend, returned to his club in Aylesbury yesterday to an “amazing reception.”

Mr Sietnieks is a brown belt who’s been training in the martial art for 10 years.

He said: “It hasn’t really sunk in yet. I owe a big debt of thanks to the lads at my Jiu Jitsu club, they’ve been amazing with me.

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“I’m 57, and not as flexible as some of the young lads – but they’ve worked really hard with me to get to where I am.

“I took four months off work to train for this event, and winning it will hopefully put me in good stead for getting my black belt now.”

This is Mr Sietnieks first time winning the world championships, but he has won the European Championships twice before, and the national championships three times.

He added: “When I first tried Jiu Jitsu in 2001 - at a time when I was doing Judo – I didn’t like it.

“I tried it again and eventually fell in love with the sport. The people there give me a great sense of camaraderie and it’s helped me massively in my general wellbeing.

“It’s more of a lifestyle than a sport.”  

 

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This story was written by Matthew Norman, he joined the team in 2022 as a Facebook community reporter.

Matthew covers Bicester and focuses on finding stories from diverse communities.

Get in touch with him by emailing: Matthew.norman@newsquest.co.uk

Follow him on Twitter: @OxMailMattN1

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