Martial arts mum stars at World Championships

Cheryl Gray decided to take up Taekwondo after watching her son from the sidelines.

She soon caught the bug and found herself in the line-up for the top competition.

It marked the end of a milestone year for the mum-of-two, who also started to run and completed her first ever 10k for charity.

Now she hopes reaching her goals will inspire other women to take on new challenges.

Businesswoman Cheryl, from Gourock, said: "It has been a big year for me - at the start of it I couldn't even run for longer than 30 seconds!

"Now I have finished the Great Scottish Run, taken part in an amazing Taekwondo championship and I have lost two and a half stones.

"The martial arts training is really tough, but I love it.

"I am now much fitter and I feel better."

"It was a very special day.

"I have loved learning Taekwondo and used to take my son Dylan.

"Instead of just sitting watching every week I decided to give it a go myself."

Cheryl, mum to Dylan, seven, and Ethan, five, is a member of the UKTC Taekwondo class run in Inverclyde by coach Andrew Hamilton.

She was part of the team they sent to the World Championships in Motherwell, coming home with two bronze medals in the 35yrs+ adult female blue belt category for both sparring and patterns.

Busy Cheryl also runs her own award winning class, ArtVenturers, for parents and babies - giving families the chance to enjoy messy play outside their own homes.

The Gourock mum set it up after deciding not to go back to her old job in retail management after having her two boys.

Since then she has built up her classes and has been shortlisted for national awards.

Cheryl added: "I was turning 40 this year and I wanted to make it count and that's why I signed up for the Great Scottish Run."

Kind-hearted Cheryl ran the race to raise money for a memorial tree in Darroch Park in support of a local couple Karyn and Andrew Jenkins, who tragically lost their daughter Sophie Louise at only 22 weeks.