Katinka Penketh is a taekwondo (Kyrougi) athlete who was awarded a Tier 3 Scholarship within the 2023 Sport Australia Hall of Fame Scholarship and Mentoring Program.
Born in Western Australia, in 2005, Katinka was enrolled in her first Taekwondo class at the age of 4. She competed at club and state level, in both Poomsae and Kyrougi, until the age of 10 when she decided to concentrate her efforts on Kyrougi.
In 2017 Katinka was selected to represent Australia at the World Championships. Unfortunately, Australia didn’t send a team to the event however, an alternative tour to Croatia and Greece was arranged where she made a quarter final (Croatia) and won her first international medal, a bronze in Greece.
To allow herself more flexibility and time for travel both interstate and overseas for training and competitions, Katinka decided to leave mainstream school in 2018 and continue her education through Distance Education. 2018 proved a busy year of competitions travelling through Romania, Serbia, Croatia, Nepal, Belgium, Kuala Lumpur, and Australia. Throughout this period, Katinka claimed six gold medals and was named Best Female Cadet Fighter of the Tournament at a competition in Romania.
2019 was another busy and successful year for Katinka as she won gold for the Australian selections to travel with the World Team to Uzbekistan. She carried that success into further tournaments and claimed five gold medals across events in Kuala Lumpur, Nepal – where she was also named Best Female Fighter at the Nepal International Open – and Germany.
The COVID-19 pandemic certainly impacted Katinka’s ability to travel and compete however, it also opened many doors, including the unique opportunity for more individual zoom training sessions with coaches in Germany, Malaysia and Victoria.
In May 2022, Katinka was offered a fulltime position at the Combat Aus National Performance Centre which made her the youngest member of the Taekwondo Team. She was also selected to compete in the World Team in Bulgaria.
“I am both honoured and humbled at being awarded a SAHOF Tier 3 Scholarship. The financial assistance this Scholarship provides can not be understated. Coming from a single parent family, the cost of international travel has always proved to be challenging. This scholarship allows me to focus more on my training and competitions, rather than the financial burden it places on my family.” – Katinka Penketh on being selected as a 2023 Tier 3 Scholarship Holder.
Honours & Achievements
- 2017: Croatian Cadet Open – Quarter Final
- 2017: Greece Cadet Open – Bronze
- 2017: National Cadet Championships – Gold
- 2017: Australian Junior Taekwondo World Selections – Gold
- 2017: State Cadet Championships – Gold
- 2018: Romanian Cadet Open – Gold
- 2018: Romanian Junior Open – Best Female Cadet Fighter of the Tournament
- 2018: Serbia Cadet Open – Quarter Final
- 2018: Croatia Cadet Open – Quarter Final
- 2018: Belgium Cadet Open – Quarter Final
- 2018: Dutch Cadet Open – Quarter Final
- 2018: Kuala Lumpur Cadet Championships – Gold
- 2018: Nepal Cadet International – Gold x 2
- 2018: National Cadet Championships – Gold
- 2018: State Cadet Championships – Gold
- 2019: Nepal Junior International Open – Gold
- 2019: Nepal International Open – Gold
- 2019: Nepal International Open – Best Female Fighter
- 2019: German Cadet Open – Quarter Final
- 2019: Kuala Lumpur Cadet Championships – Gold
- 2019: State Championships – Gold
- 2019: Australian Junior Taekwondo World Selections – Gold
- 2020: US Junior Open – Quarter Finals
- 2021: State Junior Championships – Gold
- 2022: Australian Junior Taekwondo World Selections – Gold
- 2022: Swedish Junior Open – Silver
- 2022: National Junior Championship – Bronze
- 2022: Korean Junior Open – Gold
- 2023: Sport Australia Hall of Fame Scholarship Holder
