When Lucas Hurren heads to the Lidstone Combat Sports Academy in Swan River, he always has a smile on his face.
Lucas began Jiu-Jitsu when he was just nine years old and instantly fell in love with it. He said his teammates in Swan River are like one big family and that they all push each other to become the best competitors that they can.
For Lucas, it did not take him long to hit his stride. Competing in the Manitoba Open on three different occasions before this year, Lucas has been all over the podium. In his first time competing at the event against the best of the best from around the province in 2019, Hurren racked up a pair of gold medals.
With some silver medals to go along with bronze medals along the way, Lucas was back at it over the weekend in Winnipeg competing in another Manitoba Open. In the 14-15 aged, 155-pound Gi event, Lucas racked up a gold medal with an outstanding performance. The Swan River star then earned a silver medal in the NoGi competition in the same age and weight class.
"It's always a great feeling to win," said Hurren. "Especially when you win a gold medal and a silver medal."
Back in Swan River, Hurren trains three days a week for an hour. This is on top of his extremely busy school schedule to go along with working part-time and spending time with his friends. It's never a dull moment for Lucas, but he's okay with that knowing all of his hard work is paying off.
"It's very rewarding to see it on such a large scale," offered Hurren.
When Lucas earned his gold medal at this past weekend's competition, he also entered the history books at his club back home. His gold was the 150th gold medal that a club member has won dating back to 2018.
In reaction to that, Lucas knows how big of an achievement it was.
"You may have your losses and wins throughout the time, but no one can ever take away that I secured the 150th gold medal for the club," offered Hurren.
Lucas adds that he's looking forward to competing in future events.
"I will always try my best to do better and better, I'll push myself as hard as I can," ended Hurren.
Hurren and his family are also moving to Dauphin in the next month and he looks forward to meeting new friends and joining a new club.