Michelle Lee Captures Gold at the 2020 World Poomsae Championship
Posted on
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 14, 2020
Taekwondo Canada is proud to announce Michelle Lee as the 2020 World Taekwondo Poomsae Champion.
After a month-long online competition, Lee earned the World Championship in the Female Over 17 Freestyle division. With a final score of 6.80, Michelle was able to take the top of the podium over the other 20 worldwide competitors in her division.
The 2020 Poomsae World Championships ran from November 15th to December 15th, with COVID-19 altering this year’s competition format to an online event.
World Champion Michelle Lee commented on her unique experience with this year’s online format:
“It has been an interesting year all around but this competition was the best way to finish off a challenging year. Overall, my experience competing in the 2020 Online World Championships was a rollercoaster. Training and preparing for this competition posed a unique challenge as I didn’t have all my teammates by my side and all the amazing athletes and coaches around me. I’m very thankful for having them virtually around and everyone’s support definitely helped. Although we don’t get the fun of seeing and connecting with other athletes from around the world, it was still an incredible experience. It is an honour to represent Team Canada.”
As a first-year student at Ryerson University studying Interior Design Architecture, Michelle explained that balancing school and competition was a challenge, especially with this year’s competition lasting a month long and in a different time zone. Despite the pressures of school and the uncertainty of COVID-19, Michelle persevered, remained focus on her goals, and ultimately achieved the World Championship.
Alongside Michell Lee were fellow Team Canada Finalists – Justina Yu, Shelley Vettesse Baert, and Claude Champagne. In a division with over 60 competitors worldwide, Justina Yu powered through and earned 8th place in the Female Under 30 Recognized Poomsae division. Also finishing within the Top 8 of their respective divisions were Shelly Vettesse Baert who earned 5th place in the Female Under 65 Recognized Poomsae division and Claude Champagne who earned 8th place in the Female Over 65 Recognized Poomsae division.
Team Canada was well represented in the semi-finals with five more athletes that joined our four finalists – Lui Lois Fong (Female Under 40), Belinda Co (Female Under 60), Mohsen Kazemi (Male Under 60), Bhajan Mann (Male Under 65) and Jacques Le Guierrier (Over 65 Male).
Taekwondo Canada would like to congratulate and thank all the Team Canada athletes that participated in the Online 2020 World Poomsae Championships. Team Canada was completed with five other athletes – AJ Assadian (Male Under 30), Timothy Johl (Male Under 40), Emilia Camastro (Female Under 50) James Gies (Under 50 Male), Khalil Thompson (Male Over 17 Freestyle).
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, the International Olympic Committee, World Taekwondo Pan America and Sport Canada. Taekwondo Canada will continue to be a leading nation in the sport by providing leadership and opportunities to enable its participants to achieve their goals.
Contact:
Dave Harris
Executive Director
(519) 859-7410
ed@taekwondo-canada.com
