Curro Wilgeheuwel karateka dominant in the dojo throughout 2022
5th Dan Sensei helps 17-year-old to international gold medal in September
Applause has been pouring in from all quarters for 17-year-old Sydney Owen.
The Curro Academy Wilgeheuwel Grade 11 learner may remember 2022 as vintage year after she climbed the martial arts ladder to dizzy heights. Now ranked second in the Karate South Africa(KSA) national rankings, Sydney achieved her regional West Rand colours and Gauteng provincial colour before earning national Protea colours in the space of a few months. To cap it off, Sydney represented her country in the Commonwealth Club Championships held in Birmingham in September, winning a gold medal.
Trained at MMK by 5th Dan Sensei Morgan Moss, Sydney finished in the top three in all three major national events in 2022. “Sydney was a true ambassador to her karate club, her region, her province, her country and also her school. Throughout the 2022 calendar year Sydney showed great dedication towards her sport,” said Sensei Morgan, himself a world and eight-time Commonwealth champion.
Sydney’s school has also sang her praises, with Curro Academy Wilgeheuwel Principal Belinda Gibson adding to the chorus.
“Representing your country is the highest honour for an athlete. Our staff and learners are incredibly proud of Sydney and her phenomenal achievement. Sydney has inspired her teachers and her peers that anything is possible as long as you work hard and persevere. Not only is she superb at sport but her humble and endearing nature reflects the humble and grounded young lady that she is,” said Principal Gibson.
Sydney’s mother, Sandy Goddard, elaborated on what a privilege it was for her daughter to compete internationally and how proud she was to wear her national colours in competition. The teenage karate sensation trained relentlessly for months in preparation and Sydney acknowledges the force behind her, saying, “Sensei always believed in me and he pushed me to be the fighter he thought I could be. Becoming a Commonwealth gold medallist turned his vision into a reality and I am very happy for both of us.”
