Talented youngster Megan, from Llanelli, became the youngest World Champion in a quarter of a century after winning gold in the JJIF Under-14 48kg division at November’s Championships in Bangkok, Thailand.
Megan’s monumental achievement is not only the pinnacle of her sport but also a ground-breaking moment for Great Britain with the youngster the first to win a championship under JJIF rules.
The St John Lloyd catholic School pupils’ journey to the final would be nothing short of inspiring, with a combination of powerful striking, precise takedowns, and clinical groundwork showcasing Megan’s dominance in the event.
Elite athletes from Italy, Russia, Vietnam, and Thailand would suffer losses as Megan remained unbeaten to mark a landmark historic moment , both personally for the teenager and for the sport in Britain.
Megan’s story to glory is that of a young girl showing that with the right attitude, determination, pathway, and support, anything can be achieved.
Coached and supported by parents Chris and Kath Thyer, Megan is part of 300 members of Satori Ju Jitsu, Llanelli – a family-run club which the youngster has been part of since its formation nine years ago.
“I had my first competition when I was four,” said Megan.
It wasn’t Ju-Jitsu, it was sumo because of how young I was.
“At first, I had no clue what I was doing. I just sat there and got pushed out of the circle.
“But when I started getting a little bit older, where I was doing proper competitions in Ju-Jitsu, I found I was really good at it.”
As a father and coach, Chris is proud of his daughter’s remarkable achievements.
“She’s worked so hard to get to that level,” explained Chris.
Coming off the tough times that she’s had on the BJJ circuit, it was nice as a parent and a coach to sit there and see her get the rewards that she deserved.
“To go out there as the only youth athlete to go out there, on a table of 18 countries, she came tenth on her own.
“The people she was fighting from the Russian team, who were competing as INA [ Individually Neutral Athletes] had won 18 gold medals in the under-14 sections, amongst others.
“For Megan to beat two of the Russians on the way through, with the podium having them in bronze and silver and Great Britain in the middle, was nice to see.”
Chris says Megan’s resilience comes from battling through disappointment in competitions as she’s grown up and taking on the learnings from the experiences.
“What we found was that there are two styles of Ju-Jitsu in the UK. You have the Brazilian style, which is mainly throwing and ground fighting, and then the Japanese style, which we specialise in.
“The difference between the two is that BJJ is all on the ground effectively, and the Japanese side has a lot of striking involved as well.
“The Ju-Jitsu scene isn’t huge. There is only the one we are creating for ourselves, which means that we were training as a traditional Ju-Jitsu club, and she had to fight in a traditional Brazilian area.
“The kids she was training against would be full-time in their art form, whereas only a third of our training was in that area.
“Although she is a high belt in that area, the competition was fierce, and we found we were going to competitions and having difficult results, and we were not putting enough training in that area to succeed.
“What we found then, when we moved into the fighting Ju-Jitsu arena, was all the losses and lessons and fights she had been involved in had prepped her for this arena well.
“So, after that, we say you either win or you learn; there’s no losing in there.
“The guts and determination that it took to be able to go through that process and not get the results she wanted allowed her to go into this area and carry the skills she had learned along the way.
“That, for me, meant that she then had the whole package.
“We didn’t realise it at the time, but it was a huge advantage. If you go to a competition and do not get the results you want, and still be able to find that as a positive later on worked in our favour.”
Megan, then at the age of 11, went on to win Great Britain Jujitsu’s first-ever European Gold Medal at the Europa Cup.
She would be later crowned “Young Sporting Hero” at the Wales Child Awards in Swansea in recognition of her achievements.
Megan’s sponsor Dauson Environmental Group, which has funded a large part of the costly travelling to events, would sum up the youngster’s qualities, calling her “an excellent role model for young athletes in Wales and Great Britain, exemplifying dedication, humility and self-belief.”
“When you have the skill level that Megan has, it doesn’t matter what age you are people respect,” continued her father, Chris.
“Whenever she is in a club or GB training, she has always got the ear of everyone because of how hard she works,
“During 2025, Megan lost just one match all year, which is huge considering we did eight to ten competitions travelling to Belgium and all around the UK.
Whilst not just dominating at her sport at the highest level, Megan is also a junior coach for various age-grade levels, underlining her positive image for young women in sport.
Cool, calm, and collected for someone so young, pressure is something the youngster doesn’t seem to be phased with, showing the maturity of an athlete wise above her years.
“Once I step on the mats, the pressure goes away. I focus on the there and then,” said Megan.
“There is a photo of me walking off the mats, smiling to myself. It didn’t feel real, first of all. Once it clocked that I had won the World Championships, I was proud.
“It is hard to go on your own as you haven’t got any other people to distract you from everything. It was a bit of pressure as at home everyone was waking up early to watch me.
“But I have to be [mentally strong], also mature because of who I am teaching, as well in younger people. I have to be a step ahead.
“There is not much difference between myself and who I am coaching who are eleven years old, so I have to be a little bit more mature.
“I do [enjoy the teaching aspect] to be fair. It’s not all about defending yourself; it’s a very social sport. You see all the friendships people build.”
After her fantastic end to 2025, Megan is targeting more for 2026 and beyond.
“The next step now [for me] is to win the under-16s, where you fight for three minutes instead of two. It is a step up, ready then for the under-18s, which carry ranking points.”
“When she starts getting ranking points at under-18s, then you can get points ready for the World Games,” adds Chris.
“The top eight ranked athletes in the World then fight against each other for the World Games title. That is the ultimate prize.”
