Taekwondo achievements win scholarship

Kiara Puche Struben has won the McGlashen Pharmacy Young Achiever Scholarship and this week the 17-year-old with a black belt in taekwondo is in Hong Kong competing in her first world championships.

The Waimea College student has been training and competing in the non-contact poomsae taekwondo for about eight years after moving to New Zealand with her family from Spain.

Her father, Alfredo, had been doing the sparring, contact form of taekwondo since he was young and that inspired Kiara to take up poomsae.

“Poomsae is about balance and grace. I just love poomsae,” she says.

“You use your whole body and you need the balance, strength, and mental strength as well.”

Her sport has taken her around the country to tournaments where she has won gold medals and is the national champion in the 15 to 17-year-old division.

She has travelled to the Oceania championships in Tahiti, but this is her first time at world championships which takes it to another level.

“Competing at the worlds was always my big goal and this will be a learning experience,” she said last week.

“It will be inspiring, and hopefully I can compete again in the future.”

The worlds run over several days and her father is one of the coaches for the New Zealand team.

Compared with many countries that have competitors she will compete against, Kiara says taekwondo is a relatively small sport in New Zealand, though it has a sizeable club in Richmond.

It’s also expensive to travel for her sport to competition and training camps and she says she is immensely grateful for the McGlashen scholarship which provides $1,000 for a young achiever each year.

After the worlds, Kiara’s next goal is adding another dan – or level – to her black belt. It will be another busy year in 2025 as she will also be a head student at Waimea College.