By RUSSELL BENNETT
SANDHURST siblings James and Georgia Thornton have done it again – claiming a swag of karate competition medals, this time from two championships in one weekend late last month.
When the News last spoke with the St Peter’s College pair in March (7 March edition), they had just won medals in the Victorian State Championships.
And now they have become even more highly decorated – medalling at the Australian Schools and University Karate Championships, and the Australian Open Karate Championships over the weekend of 19 April.
Both James and Georgia Thornton, Year 7 students from the Cranbourne school, competed in the Kumite (fighting) competition in the individual male children’s and individual female children’s divisions respectively.
They then went on to compete in the Australian Open Karate Championships.
James won a bronze medal representing St Peter’s in the individual male children’s competition, and then followed that up at the Australian Open Championships with another bronze.
Georgia won a silver medal while representing the college in the individual female children’s competition and then followed that up at the Australian Open Karate Championships with another silver.
The pair’s father and coach Darryl Thornton, himself a seven-year veteran of the sport and black belt holder, said the pair claiming medals in the Australian Open Championships was “a fantastic result from a very large division”.
Both James and Georgia achieved their results in the Kumite (fighting) section but train both in Kumite and Kata (forms or pre-arranged movements) principals.
Mr Thornton said the two championships were held on consecutive days and at the same venue every year to allow competitors from all over the world to compete in both events.
This year competitors came from a range of countries, including Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Great Britain and Russia.
Both James and Georgia now have their sights firmly set on putting in the hard yards training with the Victorian state squad with the hope of competing in the National Championships; representing Victoria in Tasmania in August this year; and after that … they both share the dream of competing at the 2020 Olympic Games.
