It all began at home, with playful grappling sessions with her mother.
At the time, Eleonore van den Hooven had not yet learned her first Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu technique, but even then, she was clearly a natural.
A couple of months later, she is standing on international podiums. Her latest achievement came at the AJP Tour Doha International Jiu-Jitsu Championship, where she won gold.
The nine-year-old trains at Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Bahrain and with the Bahrain National Wrestling Team. In just 1.5 years of training and 10 months of competition, she has collected nine gold medals and two silver medals across Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and wrestling tournaments in Bahrain, Qatar, the UAE and Saudi Arabia.
Speaking to The Daily Tribune (TDT), her mother, Sophie van den Hooven, herself an MMA and grappling competitor, said she noticed her daughter’s potential early on.
"From a young age, we used to grapple together for fun, and I could already see she had natural ability," she told TDT.
That talent became even more evident once formal training began, where she would often dominate the other children during practice.
After just eight months of training, Eleonore entered her first tournament in Abu Dhabi and won silver.
"From that moment, everything took off," her mother said.
