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Creston judoka Kaeden Rendek wins gold medal at BC Winter Games

Kootenay judokas returned with three gold, one silver and two bronze medals from the BC Winter Games...
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Kaeden Rendek won a gold medal in judo at the BC Winter Games.

Twelve judokas from the Kootenay Zone competed in the BC Games last week, returning with three gold, one silver and two bronze medals — and one of those gold medals came home with the Creston Judo Club’s Kaeden Rendek.

The 13-year-old competed against nine others in his class, U16, which meant that some were nearly three years older, and others were blue belts, one higher than Rendek’s green. But that didn’t bother him.

“I had my game plan set,” he said. “You’ve just got to stay focused.”

Unlike other tournaments the national silver medallist has competed in, there was only one match running at a time, which gave him the opportunity to scope out his opponents’ techniques.

Rendek was one of a few athletes who went undefeated, and he now has his sights set on the 2016 BC Winter Games, which will be held in Penticton.

Fourteen-year-old Chloe Luke was the only other Creston athlete competing in the Games, playing hockey on the Kootenay Zone team, which placed seventh among the eight zones.