Canadian Taekwondo Athletes Shine Amongst World’s Best at 2018 Canada Open
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RICHMOND, B.C.—Canada’s taekwondo athletes combined to rack up 21 gold medals in a deep field of more than 800 athletes in kyorugi and poomsae competitions at the 2018 Canada Open held over the weekend in
Richmond, B.C.
A strong contingent of Canadians ages 10 to adult were among the top-level athletes from 32 countries who descended on Canada’s West Coast for the sixth annual event that sees many of the world’s most promising
black belt taekwondo athletes square off for prestigious points towards their world and Olympic rankings.
Led by some of the top black belt names in the sport in Canada including Skylar Park, Andrew Park, and Josipa Kafadar, athletes climbed onto the top of podium at the Richmond Olympic Oval in a variety of age groups and
weight classes.
The following Canadian athletes were crowned Canada Open champions.
Kyorugi – Senior
Josipa Kafadar – Female 49kg (Vortex TKD, British Columbia)
Skylar Park – Female 62kg (TRP Academy, Manitoba)
Shane Britton – Male 63kg (Vortex TKD, British Columbia)
Ashlyn Arnold – Female 73kg (Vortex TKD, British Columbia)
Andrew Park – Male 74kg (TRP Academy, Manitoba)
Kyorugi – Junior
Nadja Tesic – Female 55kg (Capital TKD, Ontario)
Nicholas Hoefling – Male 55kg (Black Belt World Canada HQ, Ontario)
Kyorugi – Cadet
Alicia Fox-Vignarajah – Female 44kg (Black Belt World Burlington, Ontario)
Emmanuel Joshua Gucela – Male 41kg (Cascadia Taekwondo – Parksville)
Matthew Tchouikine – Male 61kg (Black Belt World Burlington, Ontario)
Poomsae
Natalie To – Female Youth A (Markham TKD Academy, Ontario)
Ethan So – Male Youth A (Markham TKD Academy, Ontario)
Canada – Pair Youth
Michele Lee – Female Freestyle Under 17 (North Shore Taekwondo, British Columbia)
Ethan Lippman – Male Freestyle Under 17 (North Shore Taekwondo, British Columbia)
Canadian Freestyle Mixed Team – Freestyle Mixed Team Under 17
Aj Assadian – Male Under 30 (Master Seo’s Dynamic Taekwondo)
Lisa Mae Petropoulos – Female Under 60 (Young Choung Taekwondo HQ)
Ho-Senko – Freestyle Pair Under 17 (Master Rim’s Taekwondo, Alberta)
Hans Mecking – Male Over 65 (Pont-Landry Taekwondo)
Wiens – Assadian – Freestyle Pair Over 17
Taekwondo Canada also recognized the following individuals with Canada Open MVP awards:
KYORUGI
Female Senior MVP – Ashlyn Arnold
Male Senior MVP – Brandon Plaza Hernandez
Best coach in male category – Jose Ramirez
Best coach in female category – Kate Nosworthy
Best Kyorugi IR – Leslie Cheung
POOMSAE
Female MVP Recognized Poomsae – Hailey Ra
Male MVP Recognized Poomsae – David Lee
Female MVP Freestyle – Michelle Lee
Male MVP Freestyle – Bryan Herrera Chanona
Poomsae Coach MVP – Sung Jin Kim
Best Poomsae IR – Masoumeh Majidivash
“Hosting events at home not only provides a critical benchmark for our elite athletes in preparation for major competitions, but also provides additional international competition experience for our youngsters at the
grassroots and development level athletes,” said Carla Anderson, executive director, Taekwondo Canada. “The Canada Open provided a final tune-up event for many of our nation’s best before the next Grand Prix event,
and gave many rising stars valuable lessons they will take with them in their continued development.”
Complete List of 2018 Canada Open Kyorugi and Poomsae Results:
Taekwondo Canada played host to athletes from around the globe including Mexico, India, Jamaica, Brazil and the United States.
“Thanks to the generous support from our partners – Sport Canada, Richmond Sport Hosting and Hosting B.C. – this action-packed spectator-friendly event gives our next generation of taekwondo athletes the opportunity
to compete against, and meet, the top high-performance athletes around the world. This is nothing short of inspiring for these young athletes, and critical to the growth and future success of our sport across Canada,”
added Anderson.
Taekwondo Canada also confirmed the world will gather once again at the Richmond Oval in one year’s time for the seventh edition of the Canada Open.
For complete event information and results, please visit www.taekwondo-canada.com.
Taekwondo Canada is the National Sport Governing Body for Taekwondo in Canada. We are recognized by World Taekwondo, Pan American Taekwondo Union, Sport Canada, Own the Podium, Canadian Olympic Committee, and the Canadian Paralympic Committee. Taekwondo Canada sends national teams to the Olympic Games, World Taekwondo Championships, Pan Am Taekwondo Championships, Pan Am Games, World Taekwondo Junior Championships, Poomsae World Championships, Pan Am Poomsae Championships, and is also targeting the 2020 Paralympic Games.
