The pair were recognised for achieving straight As in all of their academic subjects at school.

They claim the skills and values acquired through taekwondo have been key to their success in the classroom, with their story featured on the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) website.

Both 11-year-olds said the same level of hard work, focus and dedication required for taekwondo has helped them to achieve success.

The Ismael twins believe the sport has helped them develop self-confidence and overcome challenges.

This includes dealing with bullying at school.

"Don’t let any struggles or obstacles stop you from what you have in mind; what you want to do later in life and what your goal is," said Sally Ismael.

"Face through the hard times and you’ll get to the good times."

The twins claim to train for taekwondo every day, with the ultimate ambition being to compete at an Olympic Games.

They were presented with their awards at the United States' Senior Team Trials, which took place at the Fort Worth Convention Center.

The event decided the athletes who would compete for the US at the 2017 World Taekwondo Championships in Muju, South Korea.

Steven Lopez, Stephen Lambdin, Jackie Galloway, Danielle Wassell and Austin Tran all earned places on the team.