OTTAWA, ON – Team Canada’s Skylar Park captured a bronze medal in the Female -57kg division at this weekend’s World Taekwondo Grand Prix at the Foro Italico in Rome, Italy.
Park was dominant in her first two matches against Spain’s Marta Calvo Gomez in the Round of 16 and Morocco’s Nada Laaraj in the Quarterfinals, winning both in the new best of three rounds competition system by 2-0. Park advanced to the Semi-Final to face China’s Zongshi Lou. After a tough match, Park fell to the eventual gold medalist 0-2 and walked away with a bronze medal for Canada.
World Taekwondo Grand Prix events feature the top athletes in each Olympic weight category with winners of the Grand Prix events earning ranking points for qualification to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. The Roma 2022 World Taekwondo Grand Prix took place from June 3rd to 5th where six Canadian athletes were invited by World Taekwondo to compete at the first Grand Prix event since 2019. Representing Team Canada were Yvette Yong (F-49kg), Josipa Kafadar (F-49kg), Skylar Park (F-57kg), Ashley Kraayeveld (F-67kg), Nathalie Iliesco (F-67kg) and Nicholas Hoefling (M-58kg). Leading the Canadian athletes were coaches Carla Bacco, Jae Park and Young Choung.
Yvette Yong was another Team Canada athlete who earned a win at the Roma Grand Prix against Israel’s Rivka Bayech with an impressive 2-0 performance. After an exciting action-packed match against Italy’s Sarah Al Halwani, Yong dropped her match in the Round of 16 by a final score of 1-2.
Following strong efforts from all Team Canada athletes, Taekwondo Canada’s High Performance Director Allan Wrigley shared his thoughts on the event,
“With an abbreviated lead-up to the 2024 Paris Olympics, the Grand Prix events are critical for the Olympic qualification process. The event in Rome featured the strongest and deepest = international field since the Tokyo Games and provides our coaches and athletes with invaluable information to bring back to the training environment.”
Full Team Canada results can be found below. Please click here for complete results from the Rome 2022 World Taekwondo Grand Prix.
| EVENT | ATHLETE | RESULT |
| Female -57kg | Skylar Park | Bronze |
| Female -49kg | Yvette Yong | Round of 16 |
| Female -49kg | Josipa Kafadar | Round of 32 |
| Female -67kg | Ashley Kraayeveld | Round of 32 |
| Female -67kg | Nathalie Iliesco | Round of 32 |
| Male -58kg | Nicholas Hoefling | Round of 32 |
The next World Taekwondo Grand Prix event is set to take place from September 2nd – 4th in Paris, France.
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