Whanganui's Katherine Lockton wins gold at Taekwon-do World Cup in Australia

Whanganui 23-year-old Katherine Lockton has won gold at the 7th Taekwon-do World Cup 2018 in Australia.

Whanganui's Katherine Lockton has won gold at the 7th Taekwon-do World Cup 2018 in Australia.

The 23-year-old former Whanganui Girls College student has only been coached in the martial art for five years and her world gold in Sydney last week comes hard on the heels of her double gold at the 8th Oceania championships in Wellington in July.

Lockton, who is studying for a Masters in Zoology at Otago University and is a member of the Otago University ITF Taekwan-do Club, won gold in the Female 18-35 age group Sparring +75kg division. In Wellington she won gold in power breaking and sparring, so was familiar with international competition.

The world cup, though, was another step up and in that company Lockton conceded she was a tad nervous.

"Especially in the 12 hours leading up to my time in the ring," Lockton said.

"New Zealand was best overall of the countries competing in Sydney, but I didn't go into it thinking I would win. Once in the ring the nerves did stop and I managed to come out on top. It was really exciting to have won a world title. Sparring is my strongest of the disciplines and the only one I entered in Sydney.

"I started about five years ago and did some training in Whanganui, but most of my serious training has been at the Otago University Taekwon-do Club here in Dunedin.

"I'm in my second year at uni and will probably focus more on my studies now and decide later what to do with taekwon-do," Lockton said.