Southern England Karate Federation’s (SEKF) Carla Rudkin-Guillen, Denis Margolin and Nada Wegrzyn win gold medals at the Junior Swiss International Open

Three martial artists from Lymington and New Milton-based Southern England Karate Federation (SEKF) have won gold medals at the Junior Swiss International Open in Basel, Switzerland.

Brockenhurst College student Carla Rudkin-Guillen won double gold despite stepping up to a new age category, while Denis Margolin and Nada Wegrzyn won gold in their divisions.

SEKF founder and coach and Rudkin-Guillen’s father, Collin Rudkin, said: “I am so proud that we managed to win an incredible four gold medals. The current English champion, 15-year-old Nada, was the first to win gold in the female cadet kata category after five great rounds.

“Then, Carla, who had just moved up a category, was competing for the first time in the -21 years Female kata category, so she was entering the unknown. However, after four great rounds, Carla also won a gold medal. “So, halfway through the day, we had two gold medals out of two.”

Rudkin added: “In the afternoon, 16-year-old English International Open champion Denis was up first in the Male Junior -61kg category. He did not disappoint; after three rounds, he also managed to win gold.

“Finally, Carla was up again, and this time she was competing in the -21 years female / -68kg kumite category. She won all three rounds, claiming her second gold of the competition.”

Rudkin-Guillen currently holds six major titles at both karate disciplines. In kata, she is the English champion and English, British and Swiss International Open champion, while in kumite, she is the English and Swiss International Open champion.

“This was an extremely important competition for Carla, as after her seventh place at the world junior championships in October 2024, I decided to take her out of the competition circuit to focus back on training in preparation for her step up to the U21 years, and this I believe played a crucial role in her success.”

Rudkin-Guillen, who will go for her second Dan black belt at the end of March, Margolin, and Wegrzyn will compete in Guadalajara, Spain, at the beginning of April, ahead of the English championships.

All three martial artists are part of the national karate squad but do not have any sponsorship for 2025. For more information about sponsorship opportunities, contact Collin Rudkin at collinrudkin@googlemail.com