Oceania Cup Victory for Maccabiah-bound Australian Athlete

Congratulations to Kerry Saloner for her gold medal at the Oceania Karate Cup in the Veterans Kata event!

Kerry is a member of the Australian Karate Federation (AKF) National team which enjoyed substantial success across the Championship & Cup bringing home 28 gold medals. Fresh from her victory in the Veterans event, Kerry will drop into the Open category to take on younger competitors at Maccabiah in the Karate event to be held in Hadera on 19-20 July 2022 – less than 5 weeks away – giving up 30 years on some of her fellow competitors. It will not be the first time Kerry is competing in Open elite Karate competitions, having placed 6th at the NSW State Championships in March. Kerry also competed in the Open category at the Australian Open in April (in addition to winning the bronze medal in the Veterans category).

Kerry’s desire to move up the podium from her bronze at the Australian Open to gold at the Oceania Cup lead her to perfect a new, more technical kata, which she performed with success in the gold medal match. That journey over the last few months is indicative of Kerry’s commitment to continuous improvement, personal growth and rigorous training, more typical of elite athletes in their 20’s.
The standard of karate at the Maccabiah Games is expected to be very high with a world class Israeli team and strong American and South African contingents.

Success in karate tournaments has come to Kerry later in life as she was barred from competing in her native South Africa in her 20’s – when she first obtained her black belt. The apartheid system prohibited her multi-racial “dojo” (club) from entering tournaments. At the time, Kerry’s Jewish values lead her to the decision that it was more important to be part of an inclusive environment than competing in ‘white only’ discriminatory competitions.

Good luck, Kerry!