Karate sensation Carla now ranked seventh in the world

Rising star of international karate Carla Rudkin-Guillen showed her class by ranking seventh in the world at the Karate World Championships in Italy recently.

Seventeen-year-old Carla, from Dorset, also returned from the competition in Venice as the second-highest-placed English karate practitioner.

Competing in the junior kata competition, the Brock student lost her difficult first round tie to eventual finalist Yasmin Henrique from Brazil.

However, Henrique’s progression meant Carla could compete for the bronze medal through the repechage, facing other competitors who were beaten by the Brazilian.

Carla then beat the Swiss contender before also defeating the Greek medal hopeful.

She then narrowly lost to the Asiatic silver-medallist from Vietnam in a high-scoring display, finishing seventh overall.

Carla said: “To be ranked seventh in the world is without doubt one of my best achievements so far.

“It was a very tough opening draw against Yasmin, and after that I was willing her all the way to the final so I could compete for the bronze medal.”

Carla started practising karate aged four and won her first national gold medal aged nine.

The former Ballard School pupil is trained by her father, Collin Rudkin, and competes regularly in national and international competitions with her club: Southern England Karate Federation.

Although a specialist in the kata discipline, Carla has also competed in kumite.

In 2022, as a cadet, she won gold in the English Championships, the British Championships and the Commonwealth Championships in kata.

Then, as a junior in 2023, she won gold in the English Championships and the British Championships in kata.

Also in 2023, Carla won gold at the British International Championships – this time in both kata and kumite.

As a junior in 2024, she won gold at the English Championships in kata and kumite, as well as gold at the British International Championships in kata.

These last two performances led to Carla securing her World Championships place at the biennial event in Venice, where she represented England.

From January 2025 she will progress to under-21 competition after she turns 18.

Carla has applied to study Sports Science at Higher Education level and already has offers from several leading universities.

She also hopes that karate will appear once again at the Olympics in 2032, which will take place in Brisbane, Australia.

Carla said: “From my perspective, it’s a real shame that karate was not an event at the Olympics in Paris this year, and it will not be an event in Los Angeles in 2028.

“This lower profile for karate makes it more difficult to gain the sponsorship elite athletes need to train, travel and remain at their best.”

At Brock, Carla studies A Levels in French and Spanish, alongside the Level 3 Foundation Diploma in Sport and Exercise Science.

Having a Spanish mother meant she grew up bilingual, and she has credited her language skills as helping her feel more relaxed and connected on the international karate circuit.

As a Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme student, Carla benefits from the optimum balance of athletic development and formal studies thanks to a specially designed Study Programme.

The dual career programme, which is backed by Sport England, sees students strive for sporting excellence while also pursuing academic studies.

Carla is currently sponsored by Lions Club of New Milton, Little Lives UK and AVA Sports.