Madibaz judo exponent Lwazi Mapitiza aims to build on the best effort of his career when he claimed the bronze medal at the African Judo Championships in Madagascar in December.
Madibaz student-athlete Lwazi Mapitiza achieved a bronze medal at the African Judo Championships in Madagascar in December. Photo: Supplied
The tournament, which took place in Antananarivo, saw the 30-year-old Nelson Mandela University sport management student competing in the under-100kg category [91-100kg].
He described his third place at the African champs, which he was attending for the fifth time, as the best achievement of his career and added he was looking to improve on that.
“I want to stay on top of my game and to do that I am hoping to attend as many major competitions as I can,” said Mapitiza.
“The way to keep improving is to enter the sorts of tournaments where I will meet opponents of a high calibre.”
Mapitiza has his path mapped out for this year.
“Firstly, I have set my sights on trying to win a gold medal at the Africa champs, which will be held in April,” he said.
“I would also love to attend at least two international Grand Prix tournaments, which would help me to prepare for the World Student Games in China in August.”
Despite aiming for the gold medal, he said he was happy to return with a podium finish.
“It was a really special moment and there was a feeling of relief at the end, as well as pride in achieving what I did.
“It was an improvement on the 2019 champs, where I came fifth overall, so I am definitely happy with the way things turned out.”