Giselle Laronde-West and Chennise Charles of Shotokan Karate International Federation of T&T (SKIFTT), just missed medals in their categories at the SKIF World Championships in Athens, Greece, recently.
Seventy-two countries participated with T&T securing fourth place in their respective age group categories. Chennise Charles who competed in the 14 �15 girls age group in both kata and kumite, reached the finals in both categories and finally placed sixth in kata and fourth in kumite.
In the age group 45�49, Laronde-West made it to the finals in kata and fought for third place, tying twice with the competitor from Greece. The bronze medal was eventually given to the competitor from the host country. La Ronde-West secured the fourth position, with Spain gaining the gold, USA the silver and Greece the bronze.
The two other representatives on the team, did their best in their large categories. Karisha George competed against 58 participants and Christopher Skinner against 105. Skinner won both first round challenges in kata and kumite, but was eliminated in the second rounds.