22-06-2025
Weideman keen to extend golden run at USSA karate champs
Gqeberha karateka Luchay Weideman hopes to kick on from where she left off 12 months ago when she puts her body on the line at the 2025 University Sports SA tournament.
The Nelson Mandela University student claimed four of her team's 18 gold medals at the 2024 edition and is confident she can deliver a similarly impressive performance.
'My goal is to maintain that standard, both personally and for the team,' the 22-year-old said.
'Achieving that level of success does bring added pressure, but I see it as a privilege to be in that position.'
The human movement science student is well aware that each year brings new opposition and with it new challenges.
'It motivates me to work harder and find new ways to elevate my performance,' Weideman, who is studying towards her master's, said.
She tracks her physical progress while constantly refining her technique to ensure she is at her peak when it counts.
However, mental fitness was equally important, she said.
'You have to stay composed.'
Believing in your ability and not cracking under pressure or when intimidated were crucial traits if you wanted to reach your goals, she said.
The Madibaz champion has already made her mark in 2025 by winning silver in the kata (a choreographed pattern of movements) and a team gold in kumite (sparring) at the Afro-Asia World Open in Nelson Mandela Bay in April.
She competed as a team member of the Hillside dojo, which received a special invitation to the event which doubled as the SA championships.
Now she is keen to replicate that form against the country's top student-athletes at the Durban University of Technology on June 28 and 29.
Madibaz won 28 medals en route to claiming gold in the full-contact and bronze in the semi-contact disciplines in 2024.
Those and other recent successes have sparked a surge of interest in the sport locally, which means there will be several new faces in the squad for KwaZulu-Natal.
'It will be exciting to see how they perform and contribute to the growth of karate,' Weideman, who believes the rise in numbers has opened many doors for the club, said.
She said 2024's gold rush had given the Madibaz momentum going into 2025 and credibility as serious contenders in university karate.
Her older sister Adré, who mentors the semi-contact team, is confident they, as well as the full-contact team coached by Sango Mbinyashe, are in with a shout.
'I definitely believe both teams are in a great position to achieve top results.' — Full Stop Communications
