Reba Stewart is a taekwondo player and Olympian who was awarded a Tier 2 Scholarship within the 2021 Sport Australia Hall of Fame Scholarship and Mentoring Program.
Reba was born in Victoria in 2001 and competes in the Kyorugi discipline of taekwondo. She took up the sport in 2013, and after just two years made the Australian team for the Cadet World Championships.
Reba competed in more international events throughout 2016 and 2017 as a junior, and transitioned senior level in 2018. That year, she represented Australia in seven different international competitions and brought home two gold medals and a silver as a junior, and a gold and silver as a senior.
Reba ended 2018 as the highest ranked Australian in her senior weight categories for both the world and Olympic divisions, and held the Oceania titles for junior and senior divisions simultaneously.
2019 proved to be just as successful. Reba was the youngest Australian Taekwondo team member as she juggled training and competition with her VCE studies, and took bronze at the Korean Open, in the birthplace of taekwondo, and won gold at the Pacific Games and the Australian Open. She also finished in the top 16 at the World Taekwondo Championships, losing to the world number 2.
In 2020, Reba earned a coveted spot at the Tokyo Olympic Games after winning gold at the Oceania qualifying event. The Halls Taekwondo club member is now focussed on training for the Tokyo games and is completing a Bachelor of Psychological Science/Exercise and Sports Science.
“I am honoured to be a successful applicant for a SAHOF Scholarship. Feeling an equal amount of excitement and appreciation to be recognised and supported through this program, I look forward to being able to continue to focus on my training knowing that some of the heavy lifting with expenses is being taken care of. Thank you.” – Reba Stewart on being selected as a 2021 Tier 2 Scholarship Holder.
Awards, Honours & Achievements
- 2019: World Taekwondo World Championships – Top 16 finish
- First World Championships as a Senior – knocked out of the comp when she lost to the world #2
- 2019: Australian Open – Gold
- Only Senior Australian fighter to win Gold at home Open
- 2019: 16th Pacific Games – Gold
- “This was mentally challenging as this event was the last of 6 competitions over 6 weeks which saw me travel over 30,000km. The conditions were hot tropical and when I arrived my luggage and equipment had not.” RS
- 2019: Korean Open – Bronze
- “Taekwondo originated in Korea and is the national sport. To compete there and stand on the podium was amazing.” RS
- 2020: Oceania Olympic Qualifier – Gold (Tokyo Olympic Games Qualifier, qualified the quota spot for Australia)
- 2020 (2021): Tokyo Olympic Games – Debut, +67kg, 11th
- 2021: Sport Australia Hall of Fame Scholarship Holder – Tier 2