Josipa Kafadar and Nicholas Hoefling to represent Canada in Taekwondo in Taekwondo at 2021 Junior Pan American Games

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OTTAWA (November 19, 2021) – Taekwondo Canada is pleased to announce Josipa Kafadar (-49kg) and Nicholas Hoefling (-58kg) as Team Canada’s taekwondo athletes at the first-ever Junior Pan American Games. Both athletes will be competing in their first international multi-sport Games.

Kafadar, 20, competed at the 2020 Pan American Olympic Qualification Tournament for a spot at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. After finishing 5th at the tournament, she has since set her eyes on the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. She has returned to competition after the COVID-19 pandemic with 5th place finishes at the Senior Pan American Championships and the Mexico Open. Led by coach Daniel Thornton, Kafadar will be looking for a Junior Pan American Games podium finish to close out 2021.

Hoefling, 19, is a rising talent internationally and will be coming into these Games looking strong. He achieved a 2 nd place finish at the 2021 Bosnia and Herzegovina Open and a 3 rd place finish at the 2021 French Open this past week. Alongside Coach Carla Bacco, Nicholas is well prepared and ready to keep his podium streak alive.

Alongside Kafadar and Hoefling, there will be a total of 31 next generation athletes on Team Canada from various sports. The Games will be held in Cali, Colombia from November 25 to December 5, 2021, with Taekwondo competition on November 26 and 27, 2021. These Games will bring together approximately 3,500 athletes in 27 sports from 41 countries across the Americas.

The Cali 2021 Games are an opportunity for athletes of the Americas, 23-years-old and younger, to continue their development as they aspire to one day compete at the Pan American Games and Olympic Games. For some sports, placements at Cali 2021 will qualify quota spots for the Santiago 2023 Pan American Games. Each individual gold medallist at Cali 2021 will earn a direct qualification to compete in Santiago.

Taekwondo Canada Executive Director, Dave Harris, said of the nomination of Hoefling and Kafadar to the Junior Pan American Games,

“We are so proud to see Josipa and Nicholas as part of the Team Canada contingent. It is a tremendous honour to represent Canada and we know they will do us proud at the Games.”

Canadians can follow from home and cheer on this next generation of young athletes by tuning into the Panam Sports Channel website and mobile application, where more than 800 hours of live coverage of the Games will be streamed for free. The Panam Sports Channel will stream eight sports live each day during the Games, in addition to on-demand highlights and finals recaps.

ABOUT TAEKWONDO CANADA:
Taekwondo Canada is the official governing body of taekwondo in Canada, governing the sport in all Provinces and Territories. Taekwondo Canada is recognized by World Taekwondo (WT), the International Olympic Committee, Pan-American Taekwondo Union (PATU) and Sport Canada.

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MEDIA CONTACT:
David Harris
Executive Director
T: 613-695-5425 ex: 2
E: dharris@taekwondo-canada.com

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