Taekwondo Canada – The Youth Olympic Games (YOG) Qualification Tournament concluded on Saturday, April 7 after two days of action and exciting moments for Team Canada.

 

The most noteworthy performance of the tournament came from Ethan McClymont. The 16-year-old Winnipeg fighter defeated Cyprus’s Viktoras Pilavas and Jakub Sadurski of Poland before moving on to the semi-finals. He lost to Egypt in a close match and earned a bronze medal in the M+73kg division. His exceptional performance secured him a spot at the 2018 Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires, Argentina, this October.

“I think overall my performance was good and I am happy with my results,” said McClymont after the competition. “I had a bit of a hard time getting my energy going at the start, but I was able to pick myself up and get the job done to qualify for the YOG. One of the most important things for me at the moment is to reset and get ready for the World Juniors Championships. I will get back to my training and try to leave what happened in the last tournament behind.”

Ethan’s bronze medal result has given the young Canadian team a boost of energy for the rest of the tournament.

“Team spirit was great, we were cheering on our athletes regardless of the results. It was an exciting first day for Ethan and Master Park” said Team Canada Coach Carla Bacco. “The ultimate goal was reached which was to qualify for YOG. I can’t wait to see the rest of the athletes perform next week.”

Looking ahead to Monday for the Junior World Championships, Jamie Dossantos, Taekwondo Canada’s High Performance Advisor thinks it will be another nail biting week for the Canadian team.

“Both captains, Tae-Ku Park and Josipa Kafadar, will be hungry for a spot on the podium,” said Dossantos.“The rest of the team is eager to compete and showcase what they are capable of at this level of junior competition. Regardless of the outcomes, this is an amazing experience for our Junior athletes and we are very proud to watch them compete and give everything they have on the mat.”

YOG Results for Canadian Athletes:

F-49kg: Josipa Kafadar

vs Madinabonu Mannopova (UZB) L 4:6

M-73kg: Tae-Ku Park

vs Andres Ho Lee (PAN) W 19:10

vs Eyad Barakat (EGY) L 2:23

F-63kg: Isabella Schrunder

vs Feruza Sadikova (UZB) W 17:16

vs Assunta Cennamo (ITA) L 3:8

M+73kg: Ethan McClymont

vs Viktoras Pilavas (CYP) W  0:0 DSQ

vs Jakub Sadurski (POL) W 3:2

vs Abdelrahman Elsayed (EGY) L 6:10

M-55kg: Braven Park
vs Georgy Popov (RUS) L 17:23

F-44kg: Emily Waung

vs Alfonsina G. Gagliarodo (URU) W 7-5
vs Alicia Rodriguez (MEX) L 2:13

For official results of the YOG Qualification Tournament, please click here (http://taekwondo-canada.com/events/2018-youth-olympic-games-qualification-tournament).

 

World Taekwondo Junior Championships: Competition Schedule

Monday, April 9

F-42kg: Sarah Juman (ON)

F-44kg: Téana Averbeck (ON)

M-45kg: Jethro Emilraj (ON)

M-48kg: Stanislav Miller (BC)

Tuesday, April 10

F-46kg: Angelique Orozco (ON)

F-49kg: Josipa Kafadar (BC)

M-51kg: Joshua Hong (ON)

M-55kg: Django Meier (NS)

Wednesday, April 11

F-55kg: Élodie Tremblay (QC)

M-59kg: Sam Wagnleithner (ON)

M-63kg: Alexander Genewicz (QC)

Thursday, April 12

F-59kg: Juliana Campos (MB)

F-63kg: Sofie Nicholson (BC)

M-68kg: Tae-Ku Park (MB)

M-73kg: Yoans Lefebvre (QC)

Friday, April 13

F-68kg: Yasmine Kermiche (QC)

F+68kg: Kathryann Hamel (QC)

M-78kg: Ethan McClymont (MB)

M+78kg: JD Keenan (ON)