A WOMAN who fled war-torn Ukraine has been recognised for her “exceptional achievements” in karate.
Valentina Korovina, 38, who lives in Highmoor with her husband and two children, Nikita, six, and Anna, three, has been awarded Athlete of the Year by the Traditional Karate-Do Federation of Great Britain.
The award is in recognition of her “exceptional achievements” in karate competitions and activities.
About 100 members attended the awards ceremony on January 10, in Boston, Lincolnshire.
Mrs Korovina said: “When they presented me with the award, I was very happy.
“I am not really young, I am a bit older, especially when you think about sport, but it proves I can take home first or second place. It’s a good achievement for my age.”
Mrs Korovina also told of her desire to build a smaller “community” karate club. She is currently coaching four children and hopes to teach more in the future.
She started out in the sport when she was 12 and has been training for about 26 years.
When Mrs Korovina moved to the UK in September 2022 she joined the Henley Leisure Centre to keep up her training.
But she had to wait six months for her husband to be able to join her from Ukraine before she could restart it due to childcare commitments.
Mrs Korovina said she kept her fitness levels up by running every day with Anna’s push chair to pick Nikita up from pre-school, until spring 2023.
She said: “I had planned to attend a small competition with my Ukrainian team, in Ukraine but it wouldn’t have been safe for me or for my children to go back.
“So, I found the UK Karate Federation here and started to compete with a British team.”
Mrs Korovina said that her Ukrainian coach helped her to find the TKFGB in the United Kingdom, headed by president, Zbogniew Godzish, so she could continue to train and compete.
She has officially been part of the TKFGB for two years, becoming a member in 2024.
Mrs Korovina said: “I train every weekday evening. I pick my children up from school, help them with their homework, and then after they go to bed at about 9pm, I go to training.” She added that once a month, she drives three hours to attend her team training session in Boston.
Mrs Korovina said: “It is very tiring. At the same time, I have two small children, and I do not live in my home country. We have to learn and study English, it’s a new life here, and it’s not easy. I think it is very hard for all Ukrainian people who live here. But I find pleasure in sport. It’s good for my physical health, my mental health, and I use karate to help plan my future.”
She added: “I train regularly with my Boston team, and it’s a very lovely team that feels like a family. They helped me take my first steps here, in the United Kingdom and they have always been such good supporters, especially for my first competition in this country.”
Mrs Korovina said that being given the award has helped boost her confidence with training and competitions. She will be competing in Norwich tomorrow (Saturday) and hopes that her children will follow in her footsteps.
She said: “Nikita had his first competition in December and took home two bronze medals. It’s so nice to watch him compete. Anna is too young at the moment but I hope in the future that she can compete as well.”
