Golden girl Laura is out to rule the world

Barker, who trains at the Gracie Barra Martial Arts School, Bath Row, Birmingham came out on top in the Female Adult Purple +70kg category at the event in London.

The victory is the latest in a list of impressive successes for the 22-year-old following her return to the sport, after double gold at the British Open and two silvers in the Pan American Championships.

Barker was delighted with her latest showing after a tense final showdown.

She said: "The final was really tough, it went to the referee's decision in the last second so I'm really happy.

"This is also my first victory in purple belt, so the victory was really sweet."

With a gold medal under her belt, Barker has her eyes set on the World Championships.

"One of the girls in my division was a former world champion and I am going to hopefully get there this year," she said.

"My goal is to be a world champion one day so I will just keep competing, starting with the Grand Slam event in London."

The championships, which took place at West Croft Leisure Centre, Carshalton, welcomed competitors of all ages, from across the world and saw more than 150 fights take place throughout the day.

Tournament organiser for the UAE Jiu Jitsu Federation, Gus Oliveira, said: "I'm extremely happy after a very successful event where we witnessed an impressive level of competition.

"Many congratulations to Laura and we look forward to seeing her at our next big event – the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam Jiu Jitsu World Tour which comes to London's Excel Centre on March 19.

"This is the fourth and final event in the World Tour and is the most prestigious tournament in Europe this season."

Barker started practising jiu jitsu when she was 11 but had to take a break due to her studies.

"I trained for two years but then I had a bit of a break because of my education and then I went straight into work but I have finally managed to come back this year.

"My cousin trains as well, we used to train together a lot; he has always been telling me to come back to it and now I've finally be able to do it.

"My cousin is my main motivator. He teaches at the the club too, so he does a lot of private lessons with me."

Since returning to jiu jitsu, Barker has put in many hours of training to prepare herself for various competitions and championships.

"It took me about a month before things started coming back to me," she added.

"I really wanted to train and while I was taking a break I kept following everything but I just didn't have the time to compete.

"Now I have the time to do it and everyone is really supportive.

"It is quite tiring. I leave my house at 6.30am, go to work, finish work and go straight to the gym.

"But my work and family are really supportive.

"I train Monday to Friday and then the closer I get to competitions I train seven days a week."

Barker's victory in the British Nationals follows on from her appearances in the British Open and the Pan American Championships.

She added: "I have been competing quite a lot recently.

"When I first came back I won double gold in the British Open and I also went to New York to compete in the Pan American Championships and came back with two silvers.

"At that point I hadn't been training very long, so I was really happy."