Park Secures Silver at Paris 2022 World Taekwondo Grand Prix
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Ottawa, Ontario (September 6, 2022) – Canada’s Skylar Park added her first silver medal to her Grand Prix medal collection at this weekend’s Paris 2022 World Taekwondo Grand Prix.
Coming off a bronze medal at the Rome Grand Prix last June, Park had her eyes set on a podium repeat. The Winnipeg native fought her way through matches with Chinese Tai Pei’s Chia-ling Lo in the Round of 16, Great Britain’s Aaliyah Powell, and China’s Lijun Zhou in the Semi-Finals to set up a rematch with Zongshi Lou of China. Park last fought Lou in the Semi-Finals at the Rome Grand Prix. Lou won the first round of the Final match with a score of 4-2. In a close second round, Park fell to the gold medalist in the last 20 seconds of the round and lost the match 0-2, earning Canada a silver medal.
Taking place from September 2nd to 4th, World Taekwondo hosted the second Grand Prix event of 2022 in Paris, France at the Palais des sport Marcel Cerdan to feature the top athletes in each Olympic weight category. Canada was well represented across the competition, with athletes competing in seven of the eight divisions. Team Canada featured Viviane Tranquille (F-49kg), Yvette Yong (F-49kg), Skylar Park (F-57kg), Ashley Kraayeveld (F-67kg), Melissa Pagnotta (F-67kg), Nicholas Hoefling (M-58kg), Braven Park (M-58kg), Hervan Nkogho Mengue (M-68kg), Jordan Stewart (M-80kg) and Marc-André Bergeron (M+80kg). Coaches Alain Bernier, Carlos Amezcua, Carla Bacco, Edward Fong, Jae Park and Young Choung were ring side for the Canadian athletes.
Canada’s Viviane Tranquille and Ashley Kraayeveld also earned victories at the Paris event. Tranquille was strong in her Grand Prix debut against the host country’s Maysane Kamkasoumphou in the Round of 32 and was eliminated in the Round of 16 by Croatia’s Lena Stojkovic. Kraayeveld defeated a familiar face in Canada’s Melissa Pagnotta in the Round of 32, but lost a tough match against France’s Magda Wiet Henin who was ranked 2nd in the World.
Taekwondo Canada’s High Performance Director Allan Wrigley shared his thoughts on Canada’s performance, “This is a tremendous achievement for both Skylar and her coach Master Jae Park. It marks yet another step in her progress as one of the top taekwondo athletes in the world. We are also extremely proud of the improvements you can see that our other athletes are making at the WT Grand Prix events. It’s an exciting time for taekwondo in Canada as these athletes continue to show how we can compete on the world stage.”
Full Team Canada results can be found below. Please click here for complete results from the Paris 2022 World Taekwondo Grand Prix.
|
EVENT |
ATHLETE |
RESULT |
|
Female -57kg |
Skylar Park |
Silver |
|
Female -49kg |
Viviane Tranquille |
Round of 16 |
|
Female -67kg |
Ashley Kraayeveld |
Round of 16 |
|
Female -49kg |
Yvette Yong |
Round of 32 |
|
Female -67kg |
Melissa Pagnotta |
Round of 32 |
|
Male -58kg |
Nicholas Hoefling |
Round of 32 |
|
Male -58kg |
Braven Park |
Round of 32 |
|
Male -68kg |
Hervan Nkogho Mengue |
Round of 32 |
|
Male -80kg |
Jordan Stewart |
Round of 32 |
|
Male +80kg |
Marc-André Bergeron |
Round of 32 |
The next World Taekwondo Grand Prix event will be taking place in Manchester, England from October 21st to 23rd, 2022.
About Taekwondo Canada:
Taekwondo Canada is the official governing body of Taekwondo in Canada, overseeing the sport in all Provinces and Territories. Taekwondo Canada is recognized by World Taekwondo, the International Olympic Committee, PATU 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.
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Contact:
Dave Harris
Executive Director
(519) 859-7410
dharris@taekwondo-canada.com
