Robert and Sarah Sanderson may live on a farm in regional New South Wales, but they are taking the Brazilian jiu-jitsu world by storm.

Earlier this month, Robert, 11, and Sarah, 8, won the 2024 World Jiu-Jitsu Championships in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Robert had to beat about 20 children to claim the honour, facing opponents from countries including Uzbekistan, UAE, Ukraine and Russia, while Sarah’s competitors included kids from Egypt and the UAE.

Each match lasted three minutes for Robert and two for Sarah.

The siblings have also won various national and international competitions this year, including the National Australian Jiu-jitsu Championships, the Pan Pacific Jiu-jitsu Championships, and they also travelled to the USA where they won the most prestigious Jiu-jitsu competition in the world, the Pan Kids IBJJF Championships.

The Sandersons’ next competition is on 24 November which is the NSWBJJF Summer Cup in Sydney.

Their mother, Alison Smith, said the siblings took up jiu-jitsu two years ago, inspired by their father who has experience in karate, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, Krav Maga, and mixed martial arts.

“He just exposed them (to it – jiu-jitsu) and they loved it,” Ms Smith said.

The siblings train in Sydney one to two times a week, which is a round trip of about 550 kilometres and a two-and-a-half-hour drive. These sessions can last between five and six hours.

They also have a gym set up at their Bungendore cattle farm, where they train between two to three hours at a time.

The siblings both want to become professional athletes.

Ms Smith said it was amazing to see them doing so well.

“I’m very proud of them both. They both train very hard, they’re very mature and dedicated,” she said.

“They love it. We don’t push them; they can’t wait to get onto the mat.”

She said jiu-jitsu was a technical sport that required lots of skill, intelligence and strategy

Robert said he loved the exhilaration of the sport.

“[I love] Being able to meet great people around the world and travel to all these great places,” he said.

Robert said the highlight of their trip to Florida, USA, in July was training for seven hours a day, “learning from some of the best.” In their spare time, the family also visited Disneyland.

“We made a couple of friends. It was great,” he said.

Sarah echoed her brothers’ sentiments of the trip, which was her first time travelling overseas.

“I got to meet new people. They (the matches) were actually really hard because my opponents were really good,” she said.

“I could beat some of them but with others, it was a challenge.”

The pair will return to the US next year to compete.

Sarah said she loved competing and travelling around the world for jiu-jitsu, and also enjoyed meeting new people.

Their brother, William, who is 9, also wants to travel with the family and compete in the next year or so.

To keep up with their competitions and sporting achievements, follow their Instagram @teamsanderson, managed by their mother.

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