MARTIAL ARTISTS GOLDEN AT VEGAS TITLE MATCHES

In Las Vegas, there's not much around to rival the sparkle of The Strip.

Last weekend, Lorne Davidson's smile could've come close. Davidson, owner of White Rock's Seung Ri Blackbelt Academy, traveled to Sin City with fellow competitor Brett Lamb to complete in taekwondo's Spring National Tournament.

Both returned home with medals.

Lamb, in his first ever national competitions, took gold in forms, and claimed bronze in sparring.

Davidson-competing in second- and third degree men's 50-59-years-old division-finished with a gold in forms, defeating a former world champion in the process.

Considering it had been four years since Davidson last competed nationally, the win came as a surprise.

"I hadn't expected to do that well, not at all," he said.

"Brett hadn't been to the competition before, so we just wanted to go down and see what it was all about."

On the road to victory, Davidson had to defeat 15 competitors-many of them among the best in the United States.

"There were three of the top 10 competitors in the ring that day, and I had to go through them all. It was very stiff competition," he said.

When judges tallied the final marks, Davidson was tied for the lead, which meant a one-on-one showdown with defending champion Peter Robustelli from Boca Raton, Fla.

Davidson and Lamb now plan to attend World Championships, slated for Little Rock, Ark., in June.