Waterfall teen off to world champs
Candice Leslie has continued to rake in gold and silver medals through her beloved sport of karate. She hopes to do SA proud during the world champs later this year.
PHOTO: Supplied
WATERFALL’S Candice Leslie will embark on the karate adventure of a lifetime when she jets off to Malaysia in September to compete in the Goju-Ryu World Championships.
Candice recently travelled to Swakopmund, Namibia where she competed as part of the SA National Protea team in the AUSC Region 5 Championships and brought home gold for kata and silver for kumite.
After a short time at home, Candice flew to Johannesburg for additional training before the Youth World Cup and training seminar in Croatia.
Candice started karate in 2006 and, in the beginning, had great difficulty learning the movements, was uncoordinated and suffered from low muscle tone. Due to this, she struggled through the various karate grades but the more difficult it became, the more determined she was to prove she could do it.
Candice currently holds a senior 2nd Dan black belt. She developed a love and passion for karate that only continues to grow.
She was the 2018 head girl at Waterfall College and, according to her, the school also played a part in her success.
“Waterfall College acknowledged my sport and achievements, this showed me they believed in me and this motivated me even further,” she said.
After completing matric, Candice decided to focus all her time and energy on karate, trains every day and puts her whole heart and soul into the sport. She also coaches other athletes on the tatami at regionals, provincials and is one of the KZN coaches for the national events.
Candice sets herself unbelievable goals and will continue to push her limits until she reaches them as she is a disciplined, determined and caring person who is passionate about karate.
She has a physiotherapist Dawn Nunes and a chiropractor, Nicole Moulder, who help her to maintain her training levels and overcome injuries, regular visits, she admitted, are essential. The humble karate student said she attributes her success to her coaches, Sensei Ben Mare and Sensei Leonardo Ciutto.
“They have always gone above and beyond. I want to give a special thanks go to KSA (Karate South Africa) for taking South African karate to new heights and giving these opportunities to athletes,” she said.
Do you want to receive alerts regarding this and other Highway community news via Telegram? Send us a Telegram message (not an SMS) with your name and surname (ONLY) to 060 532 5409.
You can also join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
PLEASE NOTE: If you have signed up for our news alerts you need to save the Telegram number as a contact to your phone, otherwise you will not receive our alerts.
Here’s where you can download Telegram.
