IN a formidable display of athleticism and grit, Naoise McManus from the Erne Wrestling Club finished eighth place at the Under-17 Beach Wrestling World Championships in Greece.
The Under-17 Women’s 55kg category drew 21 top contenders from across the globe.
In the group stage, McManus representing Great Britain topped her group against Greece, Moldova and Poland.
She then qualified through to the quarter-finals to face Azerbaijan, losing to an athlete who went on to claim the gold medal and become world champion.
This follows recent success at the Europeans in Croatia in May, where she placed seventh, and her subsequent gold medal at the Finnish Open Beach Wrestling Championships in Helsinki in August.
Naoise has also been selected by Great Britain for the World Championships.
Her top eight world finish is massive for Erne Wrestling Club and Wrestling Northern Ireland. Naoise is the first athlete from the North to qualify and be selected by Great Britain for a Wrestling World Championship.
She attributes her success to the hard work from her club coach Bruce and Wrestling Northern Ireland coach Stuart over the last few years.