Andrea Anacan was unable to progress beyond the elimination round in the kata competition today.
This is the first time karate has been included in the Olympics, and Anacan is New Zealand’s first representative in the sport.
The 30-year-old Aucklander scored 23.46 and 23.78 in her two performances. When averaged out, they gave her a score of 23.62, which placed her fifth in her pool with only the first three to advance.
Anacan, whose family moved to New Zealand from the Philippines when she was 12, said she was excited and honoured to be New Zealand’s first karate competitor at an Olympics.
“My family sent me a video compilation last night and when I looked at it I had a massive cry, which actually got rid of much of the nerves.”
She said she felt good after her performance, even if it was not good enough for her to continue in the competition.
Anacan’s event is new to many sports followers. Competitors perform a different kata in each performance and their scores are judged 70 percent on technical merit and 30 percent on artistic merit.