Dyer: tae kwon do's golden girl

Ainsley Walters, Gleaner Writer

ASHIEKA DYER's banging at the door of the female combined martial arts team could not have been any louder, recently, as she emerged the country's top adult black belt performer at the International Sports Karate Association's US Open in Orlando, Florida.

Dyer's individual double gold medal performance was redemption for the 19-year-old, who had failed to make the female combined team for the Continental Gold Cup.

After watching the three-member female team earn silver behind Puerto Rico, Dyer put on a golden show over two days at the Coronado Springs Resort.

The University College of the Caribbean student defended her continuous sparring gold on Friday and returned the following day to etch her name on the clash-sparring trophy.

"Last year, I was alright with how I progressed. This year, with the amount of cardio work that I put in, I was motivated and told myself I had to win," said Dyer, an on-and-off member of the combined team.

Her success, she said, has inspired her to cement a spot on the female team.

"It showed me that I am one of the best and able to reach the level where Sheckema (Cunningham) is at," remarked Dyer, referring to the combined team captain and International Tae kwon do Federation World Championship bronze medallist.

So successful was Dyer at the US Open, that she surpassed top-rated Cunningham in individual performance - albeit the combined team captain had fought and won three team bouts in Thursday's Gold Cup while Dyer rested.

"After seeing how well I did on Thursday, I said this was my own, no matter how tired I was. I told myself nothing was going to stop me," she added.

Dyer's performance was always on the cards as she had been in form leading up to the US Open.

The Merl Grove High School alumnus had won May's Gator Nationals in Daytona, Florida, a prep tournament ahead of the Open.

With three International Sports Karate Association gold medals so far this year, Dyer is now Jamaica's top female individual performer on the international circuit.