Rosie is world champfor the third time

A TALENTED Yate teenager has been crowned world champion for Irish dancing, for the third year in a row.

Rosie Rendell, 14, won her age group at the World Irish Dance Association World Championships in Killarney in April, triumphing over more than 40 other competitors in front of more than a thousand spectators.

Rosie, who attends Yate Academy, won her first title in the under-12 category two years ago, when she had to perform her dances on the floor in her living room in front of a webcam as the event held remotely because of covid restrictions.

Last year she performed live at Düsseldorf in Germany to win the under-13s title.

This year, qualifying for the under-14s category, she was performing at the art form's spiritual home and beat elite performers from across the world to be crowned world champion again.

Rosie's dad John said: "She was unbelievable, and beat off other elite performers from all over the world.

"Seeing so many dancers at the top of their game it was hard to tell what the outcome would be - to me all the dancers didn’t put a foot out of line, so for Rosie to get a recall (when the field is cut from 41 to 20) we were again delighted for her and extremely proud.

"Rosie then showed her mental strength and executed her final dances to perfection, and we were super proud when she got crowned the winner - World Champion for the third time in three years."

Rosie has been Irish dancing since the age of seven and trains between three and five times every week, all year round, at the Stuart Irish Dance School in Fishponds.

John said: "This shows the complete dedication Rosie shows in her field - regardless of how she feels and what kind of day she has had, it's never a chore getting her to her dance sessions.

"Hard work continues to pay for her, and the family are very proud of her achievements."

Rosie comes from an active family – John is the manager of Yate Town and played football professionally for Cardiff City, while brother Joshua is a talented cricketer and footballer.