The tournament, which was hosted in New Zealand in 2015, took place this year in Bucharest, Romania from the 14-17 September and attracted more than 1000 competitors from 37 countries around the world.
To qualify and receive an invitation Finn had to first receive a top-rank placing at a Goyu Ryu Karate tournament in New Zealand.
No stranger to competing, Finn has been doing Goju Ryu karate since the age of five and the young black belt athlete has racked up an impressive array of accolades and awards in New Zealand.
Finn’s mother, Lexie Matheson reports that Finn did well against 67 other young male competitors and only improved as the tournament went on.
“He astonished everyone by just getting better and better as he came to understand the levels needed to be competitive,” she says. “He's now ranked fourth equal in the world for both kata and kumite.”
The New Zealand, team made up of 13 competitors, came away with four golds, five silvers and six bronzes.
