Vic athlete wins gold with broken foot

Gabrielle Mentjox

While the majority of students were lazying over the mid-semester break, Claire Rainier kicked a girl in the head with a broken foot and won a gold medal for it.

The second year Victoria University of Wellington student competed in the Karate Women’s Novice and Open Division at the Uni Games held in Taranaki recently.

Rainier, who has been training in Karate for five years—competing at both a national and international levels—broke her foot when she kicked her team mate’s elbow during a warm up. “His elbow is fine,” she said.

Her win was secured by a kick to her opponent’s head, who was also a member of the Victoria University team.

At first, Rainier thought the injury was just a bruise, as she is prone to minor injuries when competing against taller opponents. It wasn’t until after the finals had started that the referee suspected her foot could actually be broken. She was, however, determined to continue.

“The Vic Hockey boys had turned up to watch the Karate for a while, so I wasn’t going to show pain because there were a whole bunch of guys watching,” Rainier said.

“I just continued and hobbled around.”

Rainier is “very proud of the Vic Karate team.” From a team of five, three of them had only joined the Victoria University Goju-Ryu Karate Club last year.

With the girls’ excellent performances, and the only male competitor earning a silver medal in the Men’s Division, the Victoria team managed to score first place overall in the competition.

Rainier hopes to compete at the World Karate Championships in Japan and the USA in the coming years.

http://www.salient.org.nz/news/vic-karate-kid-wins-gold-with-a-broken-freakin%E2%80%99-foot

This story was syndicated by the Aotearoa Student Press Association via Salient www.salient.org.nz

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