Tanita Ramburuth-Hurt is a real-life wonder woman.
A year after she was awarded Gauteng Sportswoman of the Year for 2017, she has raked in even more medals in martial arts, got half-way through her master’s degree in astrophysics and fought for gender equity in university sport.
The 24-year-old Parktown resident is a member of Wits Tang Soo Do.
This is a club which practises the Korean martial art of tang soo do at Wits University, where she studies and is a member of the sports council.
Ramburuth-Hurt followed up her success last year with three gold medals at the Worldwide Tang Soo Do Family Championships in London, and four gold medals at the South African Championships.
Unfortunately, her club did not enter the Gauteng Sports Awards this year due to the application period falling outside of these competitions.
Nevertheless, Ramburuth-Hurt was named the Wits sportswoman of the year for her efforts.
“I have been doing tang soo do since 2015 and I love it,” she said.
“The people who do it are like a family, we look out for each other. The sport is empowering and helps me focus on one thing at a time, which helps my studies.”
She will finish her masters at the end of next year and is considering studying a PhD.
But a busy schedule has not stopped her from giving back to the sport.
Ramburuth-Hurt, who has a cho dan bo belt (a black belt in-training), helps train other members of her club.
Furthermore, she has been a member of the Wits Sports Council since last year, first with the portfolio of youth development and now as an SRC officer promoting mental health and gender equity.
“Women sports players get less exposure and are paid less than men. I am hoping to change the image that sport is for men.”
Master Gregory Hart did not run out of praises when talking about his star martial artist.
“She is amazing,” he said.
“When she won that big award she felt pressure to live up to it, and I’m proud of how she went to another world championship [in London] and even built on her high standard.”
Hart added that Ranburuth-Hurt remained humble and was a good role model to youngsters in the club.
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