Okotoks karate champion Fiona Nelson wins second world title in Mérida
Fiona Nelson, a Foothills Composite Grade 12 student, took gold in 15-17 female black belt team kumite at the 2026 Shoto Cup in Mérida.
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Okotoks teen Fiona Nelson won gold in the 15-17 female black belt team kumite at the International Shotakan Karate Federation 2026 Shoto Cup World Championships in Mérida, Mexico, last week. It is her second world title. She won her first two years ago in England as a brown belt.
Nelson competed alongside Emma Neale and Maika Bernier, and the trio was the top Canadian outfit in the team event. She also took bronze in the adult women's team kata in Mexico.
Nelson, a Grade 12 student at Foothills Composite, trains four times a week at the ISKF Calgary dojo in north Calgary under sensei David Jones. She was selected for Team Canada after winning the national title in May and trained weekly with the Canadian contingent before the event.
"The first time I won in worlds, it was more surprising, I didn't expect that it would happen," Nelson said. "This time around I thought, I don't know, if I would be able to do the same thing. I think I really proved to myself the capability I have with karate."
She described the adult black belt field as larger and more advanced than the brown belt events she had entered before, and said she felt more confident going in the second time.
