They know all about Milli McCourt in California since the Byron Bay lass left there with a world title under her Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) belt.
As she is just 15 years of age, what makes Milli’s win even more impressive is the fact that BJJ is the biggest growing sport in the world.
The IBJJF (International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu) world title is the highest achievement in the sport, with competitors from all over the planet coming to test their skills against the best of the best.
The event was held at Walter Pyramid, at Long Beach State University, from 2 till 5 June, and Milli is the first person to represent Australia at this level, so bringing home the gold is almost unbelievable.
McCourt started training to compete in this event 12 months ago and it was a long and hard path of training at least twice for up to six days a week. Milli’s training includes running, crossfit, drills, BJJ sparring, grappling, and working on the specific techniques she would use at this event.
Milli says that when she first started training she was just 12 years old. ‘I had the dream of becoming the IBJJF Champion of the World,’ she says. ‘I worked so hard and made so many sacrifices to achieve this goal. Standing there with the referee holding my arm in the air was the most amazing feeling I have ever experienced.’
