Valeriia Semeniuk won gold at the British National Championships in the junior under-52kg category, an achievement she admits she never thought possible.

The victory marked an improvement on her previous appearance at the championships, where she finished third in the same category.

Valeriia said: "It's my second National Championship.

"Last time I took third place in the same category, under 52kg as a junior.

"This time I won a gold medal, so I became a British national champion, which is unbelievable for me because I thought I couldn't make it."

The teenager's journey to the top of British taekwondo began after she and her family were forced to leave Ukraine following Russia's invasion.

Originally from Vinnytsia, in central Ukraine, Valeriia spent much of her childhood training in gymnastics and acrobatics.

She briefly tried taekwondo as a young child but gave it up in favour of other sports.

Valeriia said: "I tried taekwondo when I was five or six years old, but I didn't like it, so I just went to acrobatics.

"I think it was my main sport until I was 12."

After arriving in England, she initially attempted to continue with gymnastics but found she no longer enjoyed it.

Instead, she decided to give taekwondo another chance.

She said: "I tried my first lesson and I enjoyed it.

"This is when I started doing taekwondo two years ago, and now I'm a British national champion."

The move to the UK was not without its challenges.

Valeriia said adapting to life in a new country and learning English from scratch was difficult.

"When I arrived in England, I started learning English," she said.

"It was difficult to learn the language, to find new friends and just communicate with people.

"But now I feel so much better. I've got friends, and I can understand, communicate, read and write."

Valeriia also paid tribute to her coach, Rick Simpson, and her Apex Cyclone Taekwondo Club teammates in Keighley, West Yorkshire.

Rick Simpson said that Valeriia embodies the determination and attitude that he wanted Apex to develop.

He said: “I just think that Valeriia’s attitude and determination are just a fantastic beacon for everyone else.

"She’s had to escape her country, move here, learn a new language, integrate with people she’s never met before in a different country.

“She was a champion gymnast in Ukraine; now she’s taken up taekwondo for the first time since moving to the UK, and two years later she’s national champion.”

Away from training, Valeriia lives in Burnley and works at Samlesbury Hall during school holidays, describing it as her first experience of employment in the UK.

Sharon Jones, chief executive of Samlesbury Hall, said that she was “delighted to work alongside such a talented individual”.

Looking ahead, she hopes the national title is only the start of her sporting journey.

Her ambition is to compete internationally and, one day, reach the Olympics.

She said: "I'm thinking to keep doing taekwondo and take part in international competitions.

"I would like to go to the Olympics in the future if it works out."

Valeriia also wanted to thank her parents, Sasha and Alona, for their patience during her training.

However, she acknowledged that the cost of competing abroad can be a challenge and said support from a sponsor would help her continue developing.