Heredia, Costa Rica (July 3, 2022) – After two days of taekwondo competition at the 2022 Cadet and Junior Pan American Championships, Team Canada’s 46 cadet and junior athletes competed in 45 divisions across Kyorugi and Poomsae disciplines. Team Canada finished 2nd overall in medal standings for Cadet Poomsae and Kyorugi and 3rd overall for Junior Poomsae and Kyorugi, with a total of 33 medals (6 gold, 12 silver, 15 bronze).
The Pan American Taekwondo Union (PATU) hosted the 2022 Cadet and Junior Pan American Championships at the Palacio de los Deportes in Heredia, Costa Rica from June 29th to 30th, 2022. This international competition featured both Kyorugi and Poomsae disciplines and included athletes from eighteen Pan American countries.
Taekwondo Canada’s Poomsae National Team kicked off the competition and earned medals in all their events. Led by coach Master Ri Seong Kang, Canada captured silver medals in the Cadet Male, Cadet Female, Freestyle U17 Male and Freestyle U17 Team events and bronze medals in Cadet Pair, Junior Male, Junior Pair, Freestyle U17 Female and Freestyle U17 Pair events. With their nine total medals, the athletes highlighted the up and coming talent in Canada’s Cadet and Junior Poomsae divisions.
Taekwondo Canada’s Kyorugi National Team consisted of athletes from five provinces displaying a great indication of the future for taekwondo in Canada. The team capped their strong performance with six Pan American Champion titles. In the Cadet division, Ella Brewster (F-55kg), Mohammad Alzghool (M-45kg), and Ronan Sinclair (M+65kg) all won gold while in the Junior division, Sarangi Brindamohan (F-42kg), Megan Brewster (F-52kg), and Almahdi Alzghool (M-55kg) were the champions earning gold medals.
With the COVID-19 pandemic limiting events for the past two years, this was the first National Team opportunity and international competition for many National Team athletes. “Coming into this event, it was difficult to gauge where our Poomsae and Kyorugi athletes were at relative to the other Pan American countries.”, says Taekwondo Canada’s High Performance Director Dr. Allan Wrigley. “We emphasized the importance of focusing on the process and not the outcome. This event was not only a way to measure our best Cadet and Junior athletes relative to other countries, but more importantly, to use as a launching point along their high performance pathway. We could not be more proud with the professionalism, focus, and energy these athletes brought to the team.”
Canada’s Cadet and Junior Kyorugi Teams will now shift their focus and use their performances in Costa Rica as a stepping stone towards the World Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria at the end of July 2022.
Taekwondo Canada would like to congratulate and thank all the athletes, coaches and support staff that attended the 2022 Cadet and Junior Pan American Championships!
Full Team Canada results can be found below. Please click the links below for complete results from the 2022 Cadet and Junior Pan American Championships:
| Discipline | Event | Athlete | Result |
| Kyorugi | Cadet F-55kg | Ella Brewster | Gold |
| Kyorugi | Cadet M-45kg | Muhammad Alzghool | Gold |
| Kyorugi | Cadet M+65kg | Ronan Sinclair | Gold |
| Kyorugi | Junior F-42kg | Sarangi Brindamohan | Gold |
| Kyorugi | Junior F-52kg | Megan Brewster | Gold |
| Kyorugi | Junior M-55kg | Alhmadi Alzghool | Gold |
| Poomsae | Cadet Male | Jake Kang | Silver |
| Poomsae | Cadet Female | Rachel Lee | Silver |
| Poomsae | Freestyle U17 Male | Kai-Hsin Chang | Silver |
| Poomsae | Freestyle U17 Team | Jake Kang Grace Campbell Cailin Cooke Alan Van Kai-Hsin Chang |
Silver |
| Kyorugi | Cadet M-49kg | Finn Taylor | Silver |
| Kyorugi | Cadet M-61kg | Ilya Lenco | Silver |
| Kyorugi | Cadet M-65kg | Matteo Bennett | Silver |
| Kyorugi | Junior F-59kg | Gabrielle Beaulieu | Silver |
| Kyorugi | Junior F+68kg | Aiya Hamrouni | Silver |
| Kyorugi | Junior M-51kg | Nithan Brindamohan | Silver |
| Kyorugi | Junior M-78kg | Balvir Dhillon | Silver |
| Kyorugi | Junior M+78kg | Aubert Le Bel | Silver |
| Poomsae | Cadet Pair | Godwin Li Rachel Wong |
Bronze |
| Poomsae | Junior Male | Ethan So | Bronze |
| Poomsae | Junior Pair | Ethan So Christine Cho |
Bronze |
| Poomsae | Freestyle U17 Female | Rachel Lee | Bronze |
| Poomsae | Freestyle U17 Pair | Alan Van Christine Cho |
Bronze |
| Kyorugi | Cadet F-33kg | Ciara Bennett | Bronze |
| Kyorugi | Cadet F-37kg | Raya Porter | Bronze |
| Kyorugi | Cadet F-41kg | Hana Tedford | Bronze |
| Kyorugi | Cadet F-47kg | Maria Bordokina | Bronze |
| Kyorugi | Cadet M-37kg | Zach Gillis | Bronze |
| Kyorugi | Cadet M-57kg | Yassine Hilal | Bronze |
| Kyorugi | Junior F-46kg | Maude Ricard | Bronze |
| Kyorugi | Junior M-45kg | Enzo Fabi | Bronze |
| Kyorugi | Junior M-48kg | Noah Nacsa | Bronze |
| Kyorugi | Junior M-68kg | Benjamin Tait | Bronze |
| Kyorugi | Cadet F-44kg | Anna Jo | Quarterfinals |
| Kyorugi | Cadet F-51kg | Isla Estepa | Quarterfinals |
| Kyorugi | Cadet F+59kg | Enza Wybraniak | Quarterfinals |
| Kyorugi | Cadet M-33kg | Levi Gavas | Quarterfinals |
| Kyorugi | Cadet M-53kg | Omid Eram | Quarterfinals |
| Kyorugi | Junior F-44kg | Justine Carpentier | Quarterfinals |
| Kyorugi | Junior F-55kg | Katie Cox | Quarterfinals |
| Kyorugi | Junior F-63kg | Giorgia Pezzo | Quarterfinals |
| Kyorugi | Junior F-68kg | Maya Lukic | Quarterfinals |
| Kyorugi | Junior M-63kg | Ayoub Bouriel | Quarterfinals |
| Kyorugi | Junior M-73kg | Jacob Boodoo | Quarterfinals |
| Kyorugi | Junior M-59kg | Jordan Boodoo | Round of 16 |
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.
Contact:
Dave Harris
Executive Director
(519) 859-7410
dharris@taekwondo-canada.com