Kallan Todd did Bermuda proud after securing the island’s first ever gold medal at the WKA Kickboxing and Karate World Championships in Wales yesterday.

The 16-year-old captured the gold courtesy of a points victory against New Zealand’s Te Au Pounamu Warren in a gruelling final in the +95.1kg K1 division for 16 to 17-year-olds at Prestatyn Sands Holiday Park.

“I definitely came here to win,” Todd told The Royal Gazette.

“I was very hungry and did not want to go back home with a loss. So I definitely gave my all, trained hard and did my best and came out on top.”

Garon Wilkinson, the Bermuda Sanshou Association president and team coach, praised the Sandou fighter on his success.

“I am extremely proud of Kallan,” he said. “It was a battle and he had to dig deep.

“He was the fitter fighter and was able to throw more and won a unanimous decision, but it was definitely a battle.”

Todd advanced to the final after securing a points victory over Frenchman Darmerval in the semi-final on Tuesday.

Very little separated the two fighters during the opening round before Todd dominated the remaining two rounds to seal the deal.

“I did really, really well the second and third round but in the second fight I definitely felt the effects from the first fight in my legs, but I just pushed through and did my best and came out on top.”

Todd is among a trio of local fighters, including Che Durham and Krista Dyer, who are representing the island at the championships for the first time.

Dyer has already qualified for the women’s 63.5kg K1 division final and Unified Kickboxing “Glory Rules” final against American Ellen Martin, with both matches taking place on Thursday.

The 34-year-old encountered little resistance on her way to victory having dominated from the opening bell in a lopsided 63.5kg K1 division semi-final with New Zealand’s Alex Mclean on Tuesday.

“I was very pleased with Krista Dyer’s performance,” Wilkinson said. “She fought an extremely good match, strong match. She landed hard shots, meaningful shots and responded well to my commands from the corner.

“She definitely won all three rounds and just became stronger as the fight went on so I was very pleased with her semi-final win and anxious to see what she has in the final against the United States.”

Durham has advanced to Thursday’s “Glory Rules” final against New Zealand’s Corban Mita after being awarded a walkover win in his semi-final after German opponent Andre Luckert withdrew.

He was scheduled to face Celtan Delaney, of Ireland, in the men’s 70kg K1 division semi-final last night.