Two Cariboo martial artists have won medals at the WKU World Karate and Kickboxing Championships in Rhodes, Greece.

Katharina Koppe and Sheldon Lainchbury both took part in the international competition which took place at the end of October.

Koppe won both executive women’s divisions in which she competed, one-off bouts and ongoing lightweight contacts. This is the second time Koppe has won a championship title. Koppe participated in all four days of the tournament and also helped referee the light contact division.

Lainchbury competed in three men’s executive divisions under 85kg: points fighting, continuous light contact and continuous light kick.

He won a silver medal in light contact continuous sparring, narrowly missing gold by split decision and came home with a bronze medal in lightweight continuous sparring. Lainchbury had a close fight on points, but said he had to change his game plan at the last minute due to a leg injury suffered in the warm-up.

He was also one of two coaches of the Canadian national team. Lainchbury fought three days in a row and when he wasn’t in the ring himself, he was training other Team Canada athletes, including Koppe.

Lee-Ann Lainchbury and Glen Rogers from Shogun Martial Arts also attended the competition. The duo also coached and officiated after Koppe and Sheldon Lainchbury finished competing.

Overall, Team Canada placed eighth in the medal count out of 23 countries. Next year’s event will take place in Trier, Germany.