BOLTON wrestler Charlie Meadows won his first international event representing Great Britain in Greece.

The 13-year-old athlete took gold at his first United World Wrestling international event, the Acropolis Cup in Athens.

The prestigious under-15 competition, organised by the Hellenic Wrestling Federation, was held in the Ano Liossia Olympic Wrestling Centre which was used to host wrestling at the 2004 Olympic Games.

His triumph means the Bolton Olympic Wrestling Club athlete qualifies to represent Great Britain at the European Schoolboy Wrestling Championships in Krakow, Poland, later this year.

Charlie was part of the Great Britain National Talent Squad [NTS] at the tournament in Greece.

His club, regional and NTS coach, Jesse Bradbury, who was in his corner during his successful campaign, said: “This was Charlie's first UWW international and qualifying event for the European Schoolboys in June.

"Charlie excelled in his matches, showing great technical attacking skills, and dominated the majority of his matches.

"To achieve this result at this level so early in this age group shows maturity and great discipline.

"The talent pathway coaches are now working with Charlie on his preparations for the Europeans, with NTS training camps at Lilleshall and one of the biggest tournaments in Europe, at Tallinn in Estonia.”

Great Britain NTS performance lead, Jatinder Singh Rakhra, said: “Charlie showed true heart to win gold.

"It is a great accomplishment and he would have gained a lot of confidence from this trip.

"I am extremely proud to see him achieve this and I would like to thank Charlie for helping put Great Britain on the wrestling map and for representing the British Wrestling Association.”

Charlie's next big competition is in Tallinn this weekend – the Kristjan Palusalu Youth Tournament. It is Europe’s largest wrestling event, and attracted 1,911 wrestlers from 27 countries last year.

He will also travel to Hornberg next month to compete at the Südbadischer Ringerverband International as he builds towards the European Schoolboy Championships in Poland.