Tae kwondo king's Disneyland fairytale

Sam Pulfer, 23 (pictured) competed in the Korean kata division and met tough competition from many European countries, especially from Germany. Battling through the challenge, Pulfer impressed the judges to emerge in second place.

“This is the first time in an 11-year competitive career I’ve ever won a medal abroad, and to win a silver in Disneyland of all places is just beyond words,” he said.

“I’m proud of all my competition achievements over the years, but Disneyland Paris has to be the icing on the cake for me. It was like a dream come true.

“To come here to compete at an international martial arts festival and go home with second place is more than most can dream of.”

Since his debut aged 12, he has competed all over England, Belgium, Portugal, India, Finland and France at regional, local, national and international level.

At 16, Pulfer was asked to join the national tae kwondo team and participated with them in three tournaments in the mid-2000s.

Pulfer now competes with martial arts team Gemini.