King Cowboy Santo joins sporting elite at 2025/26 Gippstar Awards

WONTHAGGI’s own King Cowboy Santo Joma joined Gippsland’s top sporting achievers at the 2025/26 Gippstar Awards hosted by the prestigious Gippsland Sports Academy.

The hallmark annual event brought together over 100 enthusiastic guests to celebrate the exceptional talent, lifelong dedication, and outstanding sportsmanship of local athletes, teams, and clubs spanning across the entire Gippsland region.

For more than six decades, these annual awards have served as the ultimate pinnacle of recognition for regional sporting excellence. The packed evening celebrated the full spectrum of grassroots and elite sporting success.

The night built to an exciting crescendo with the announcement of the highly coveted Gippsland Champion Award. Among the standout individual stories of the night was Santo King Cowboy Joma, who stepped into the spotlight as the proud recipient of the May Open Gippstar Award.

Joma has enjoyed a thoroughly exceptional year in kickboxing defined by strict international-grade discipline and explosive performances on the national stage.

The undisputed highlight of his spectacular season came when he claimed the Australian Light Heavyweight K1 Kickboxing Title. Competing at the Iron Lion Promotions Spartans Cup Championships Joma faced an immense challenge against the reigning national champion, South Australia's David McDonald.

Showing clinical precision and devastating power, Joma secured the national title with a dominant second-round knockout that sent shockwaves through the entire division.

Proving that his title win was no fluke, King Cowboy followed up his championship performance with another masterclass interstate. At the Diamond Back Fight Club Australian K1 Kickboxing Championships, held at the historic Adelaide Oval, Joma recorded an emphatic second-round technical knockout (TKO).

It was a show-stopping performance that completely stole the show, captivated the crowd, and solidified his growing reputation as one of the country's most formidable light heavyweight strikers.

Joma's accolades extend well beyond the kickboxing ring. Adding to his combat sports achievements, he was recently awarded his Black Belt in the International Professional Taekwondo Federation.

This prestigious recognition is exclusively reserved for elite martial artists recognised by the Korean Taekwondo Association of Australia, adding a layer of traditional mastery to Joma's fierce, high-octane kickboxing credentials.

True to his character, the local warrior remained incredibly humble when accepting his monthly award trophy. Rather than focusing on his own dominant knockouts, Joma immediately turned the attention to his support network and coaches.

“A big round of applause for my team,” Joma said, gesturing to those who help him prepare day in and day out. “This whole fighting scene would not happen without having such a lovely team. It’s not just a team, it’s a family, this is their award.”

Santo delivered a powerful and moving address to the packed room of athletes, coaches, and volunteers. He praised the relentless drive required to succeed at the highest levels of regional and national sport.

“The number of hours you guys put into the sport you are doing, the weekends that just disappear, you’re working really hard to get to where you want to get to, you guys are truly inspirational so well done to all of you,” Joma said.

Reflecting on the sacrifices made by families and local clubs to support these athletes, Joma urged the room to embrace the relentless grind of their sporting journeys.

“It takes a unique kind of discipline to sacrifice your free time for a dream, but that is exactly what separates the good from the great. Keep it up and stay on that crazy path, keep working hard. All I want to say to all the people who got nominated here tonight, well done and great work on your achievement.”

Among the night's major winners were Para Standing Tennis champion Luke Missen who was honoured with the 2025/26 Gippsland Champion Award, Hockey's Bree Kenny, who claimed the Special Achiever of the Year Award, Clay Target Shooting star Jack Brady, who took home the Gippstar Junior Award and Australian Women's Cricket Team Captain Sophie Molineux who received the 2026/26 Gippstar award for the Gippsland Champion residing outside the Gippsland region at the time of their nomination.