FROM a family of athletes, one could expect young athlete Kalyka Antoni Larrazabal Carcel, to follow in the footsteps of her uncle, the running doctor Yong Larrazabal.
Marathon racers are known for speed and strength and Kali possesses both. Only, she make use of these skills, in a different way.
Kalyka Antoni Larrazabal Carcel or Kali. niece of running doctor Yong Larrazabal, became a black belt at the age of nine. She not only strutted her stuff on the mat but also on the race tracks, being one of the youngest kart racers in Cebu.
As young as she is, Kali had already shown the little daredevil in her as she made decent finishes in several local and national kart races. Not only that, she is a regular fixture in a handful of races abroad.
In the recently-held national karting race, she was a podium finisher.
As she starts to carve her niche in karting, she is blazing her way to the top in taekwondo. For this year alone, Carcel won seven gold medals in various tournaments and was first runner up in the Cebu City Olympics.
Kate Nacorda of Don Vicente Rama Elementary School is one tough cookie.
Without her gi the diminutive nine-year-old looks anything but one of the year’s multi-gold medal winner for this year.
”She is very mahinhin off court. very girly,” said Philippine Taekwondo Association regional head Tony del Prado.
Underneath that kikay looks, Nacorda actually kicks some serious ass. “She is very young but had been very impressive. She knocked out all of her opponents in the Cebu City Olympics,” said del Prado.
Nacorda took the top plums in Milo Little Olympics, Cebu City Olympics, Regional Taewondo Championships, Regional All Women’s Championships, Regional Age Group Championships, Regional Interschool Championships, Regional CPJ Championships. She also won two silvers from the National Maskara Invitational and the Visayas Age Group Competitions.
