She is back in Gisborne on holiday and is training with the club until after Christmas.
Gisborne Judo Club competitors won 16 medals at the nationals – 10 gold, two silver and four bronze, King said.
Lytton High School student Gibb won her titles in the cadet women’s under-70kg division, the cadet women’s open and the junior women’s U70kg. She also took bronze in the junior women’s open.
“She won three national titles at last year’s nationals, too,” King said.
“And a few months ago she made the New Zealand team for a couple of youth tournaments – 14 to 20 years – in Hong Kong and Macau. She competed in the cadet and junior U70kg divisions.
“She didn’t get a medal but she did well and was thrilled to bits to get her first taste of international judo.”
Gibb’s younger sister Sarah, a 9-year-old pupil at Kaiti School, won gold medals in the junior girls’ 45kg-plus division and the junior girls’ open.
John Mackay, 54, won the 50-to-59-year U100kg division and then the open-weight contest for the same age group.
“In the open-weight competition he beat a South Island guy who’d beaten him a couple of times over the years, so he was pretty pleased about that,” King said.
Judo club president Mackay, a scientist who established diagnostics and research company dnature, took up judo as a university student in Otago and moved to Gisborne about 20 years ago, King said.
Ten-year-old Elijah Gray won the junior boys’ 45kg-plus gold medal in his first national championships.
“It’s quite special for him because a gold medal at the nationals means he gets his name on the club honours board,” King said.
Atena Wong-Patrella had an uncontested gold medal in the senior girls (11-14yr) U44kg division. One prospective opponent didn’t turn up and another had gone over the weight limit.
“Atena is relatively new to judo and has just started competitions this year,” King said.
“She’s won a few medals throughout the year.”
However, her walkover win at the nationals would not qualify her for a place on the honours board.
“You don’t get on the honours board without a fight,” King said.
She went up a weight division to at least compete, but did not place.
King, 54, entered the nationals as a competitor to mark his 50 years in judo.
He had three fights and won them all by a full point to take the gold medal in the 50-59yr U81kg division.
The last time he competed in the nationals was in 2011, when he won a gold medal at the age of 40. The next day he and Gisborne Judo Club co-coach Kiki Velloza flew to Japan for the All-Japan Masters Championships, where King claimed a silver medal.
Ten-year-old Gus MacDougall and his father Aaron both gained silver medals in close-fought finals.
Gus, competing in the junior boys’ U36kg division, was leading the final on points until seven seconds from the end of the bout.
Aaron MacDougall, on his way to the final in the 40-49yr U90kg division, turned the tables on an opponent who had previously had the edge on him. He narrowly lost the final to a Wellington competitor.
“Aaron is getting better and better,” King said. “He only came along to judo because his son started.”
Gus MacDougall also won a bronze medal in the junior boys’ open.
“He beat some boys who were a lot bigger than him; one of them was 45kg-plus,” King said.
“He lost his first fight but came through a sort of repechage where they had to win a losers’ pool to challenge a losing semifinalist. He beat one of the losing semifinalists to take a bronze medal.”
Alex Mackay, daughter of veteran gold-medal winner John, took bronze in the cadet women’s open and in the junior women’s U70kg division.
