OVER the last 18 months a young girl in the Muay Thai kickboxing sport has risen to the top.

Living in North Tawton and training hard in the Chaos Muay Thai fitness and training centre in Okehampton, Sammy Jo Luxton, aged just 13, has competed in 17 fights in the last 12 months making her one of the most active fighters in her category.

She has just returned from the United Kingdom Muay Thai Boxing Federation (UKMF) super league tournament in Darlington where she won her category adding another 10 points, hopefully enough to see her gain a place in the UK junior team.

Sammy Jo is currently ranked number one in the 45/50 kgs weight category, age 12 to 15.

She thanks her trainers, Steve Pender and Christi Brereton and her sponsors, Tony and Shaun Harris of Drivers Direct, which is owned by Western Venture Group Ltd.