Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic (April 29, 2023) – Taekwondo Canada’s cadet and junior national team athletes showcased their talent at the 2023 Cadet and Junior Pan American Championships, finishing 2nd and 3rd overall in the medal standings for the poomsae competition and kyorugi competition respectively. Team Canada captured a total of 30 medals at the event (5 gold, 11 silver, 14 bronze).
Taekwondo Canada’s Executive Director Dave Harris said of the team’s results, “the Cadet and Junior Pan American Championships showed that Canada is an upcoming taekwondo nation. The results from our young athletes demonstrate that fact. I believe our team of Cadets and Juniors, along with our leadership team show that Taekwondo Canada has a bright future ahead.”
The Pan American Taekwondo Union (PATU) hosted the 2023 Cadet and Junior Pan American Championships at the Palacio de Voleibol in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic from April 24th to 26th, 2023. This international event featured athletes aged 12-17 and included both kyorugi and poomsae competition, with participation from over twenty Pan American countries.
Taekwondo Canada’s Poomsae National Team started the team’s impressive performance with two Pan American Champion titles and a total of thirteen medals. Rachel Lee (Freestyle U17 Female) and Alan Van (Freestyle U17 Male) were the gold medal winners for Canada in the poomsae competition.
Taekwondo Canada’s Kyorugi National Team added seventeen medals to Canada’s total medal count, including three more Pan American Champion titles. In the Cadet division, Zinnedine Chebli (M-168cm) won gold while in the Junior Division, Sarangi Brindamohan (F-42kg) and Ella Brewster (F-55kg) were the champions earning gold medals.
“The young talent Canadian clubs are producing was highlighted at these Championships”, said Allan Wrigley, Taekwondo Canada’s High Performance Director. “We are very proud of both our Cadet and Junior athletes across all divisions of Poomsae and Kyorugi. Not only were we regularly on the podium, but the athletes really came together as a team with a coaching staff that focussed on learning and experiencing the moment to help support their continued development in the sport”
Taekwondo Canada would like to congratulate and thank all the athletes, coaches and support staff that attended the 2023 Cadet and Junior Pan American Championships!
Full Team Canada results can be found below. Please click the links below for complete results from the 2023 Cadet and Junior Pan American Championships:
- Poomsae Competition
- Cadet Kyorugi Comptition
- Junior Kyorugi Competition
| Discipline | Event | Athlete(s) | Result |
| Poomsae | Freestyle U17 Female | Rachel Lee | Gold |
| Poomsae | Freestyle U17 Male | Alan Van | Gold |
| Kyorugi | Cadet Male -168cm | Zineddine Chebli | Gold |
| Kyorugi | Junior Female -42kg | Sarangi Brindamohan | Gold |
| Kyorugi | Junior Female -55kg | Ella Brewster | Gold |
| Poomsae | Cadet Pair | Emily Hoang, Ryan Lee | Silver |
| Poomsae | Cadet Team Female | Emily Hoang, Ashley Lai, Rachel Wong | Silver |
| Poomsae | Cadet Team Male | Josh Huang, Ryan Lee, Jayden Yu | Silver |
| Poomsae | Junior Male | Jake Kang | Silver |
| Poomsae | Freestyle U17 Pair | Kai-Hsin Chang, Cailin Cooke | Silver |
| Kyorugi | Cadet Female -156cm | Isla Estepa | Silver |
| Kyorugi | Cadet Female -172cm | Lana Purificacion | Silver |
| Kyorugi | Cadet Male -160cm | Zach Gillis | Silver |
| Kyorugi | Cadet Male +180cm | Ronan Sinclair | Silver |
| Kyorugi | Junior Female -52kg | Megan Brewster* | Silver |
| Kyorugi | Junior Male -48kg | Enzo Fabi* | Silver |
| Poomsae | Cadet Male | Jayden Yu | Bronze |
| Poomsae | Junior Female | Rachel Lee | Bronze |
| Poomsae | Junior Pair | Nicholas Ma, Suri Xu | Bronze |
| Poomsae | Junior Team Female | Emily Au, Emma Chau, Katrina Lee | Bronze |
| Poomsae | Junior Team Male | Jake Kang, Godwin Li, Ethan So | Bronze |
| Poomsae | Freestyle U17 Team | Heinrich Botha, Kai-Hsin Chang, Cailin Cooke, Macy Li, Ethan So | Bronze |
| Kyorugi | Cadet Female -148cm | Danique Regnier-Brown` | Bronze |
| Kyorugi | Cadet Female -164cm | Hannah Brewster | Bronze |
| Kyorugi | Cadet Male -156cm | Levi Gavas | Bronze |
| Kyorugi | Cadet Male -172cm | Leo Mazzone | Bronze |
| Kyorugi | Junior Female -52kg | Amanda Frelih* | Bronze |
| Kyorugi | Junior Female -59kg | Gabrielle Beaulieu | Bronze |
| Kyorugi | Junior Female -63kg | Lauren Hong | Bronze |
| Kyorugi | Junior Male -73kg | Victor Beaudet | Bronze |
| Poomsae | Cadet Female | Macy Li | 5th |
| Kyorugi | Cadet Female -156cm | Raya Porter | Quarterfinals |
| Kyorugi | Cadet Female -168cm | Estelle Lam | Quarterfinals |
| Kyorugi | Cadet Male -164cm | Nikola Samardzic | Quarterfinals |
| Kyorugi | Cadet Male -176cm | Thomas Ong-Walters | Quarterfinals |
| Kyorugi | Junior Female -44kg | Justine Carpentier | Quarterfinals |
| Kyorugi | Junior Female -46kg | Léanne Gaudreault | Quarterfinals |
| Kyorugi | Junior Female -49kg | Maude Ricard | Quarterfinals |
| Kyorugi | Junior Female -55kg | Madeline Stroeder* | Quarterfinals |
| Kyorugi | Junior Female +68kg | Skyler Sinclair | Quarterfinals |
| Kyorugi | Junior Male -78kg | Jamie Bow | Quarterfinals |
| Kyorugi | Junior Male +78kg | Aubert Le Bel | Quarterfinals |
| Kyorugi | Junior Female -52kg | Laila Khan | Round of 16 |
| Kyorugi | Junior Female -68kg | Enza Wybraniak | Round of 16 |
| Kyorugi | Junior Male -48kg | Muhammad Alzghool | Round of 16 |
| Kyorugi | Junior Male -51kg | Vincent Ko | Round of 16 |
| Kyorugi | Junior Male -55kg | Noah Nacsa | Round of 16 |
| Kyorugi | Junior Male -59kg | Almahdi Alzghool | Round of 16 |
| Kyorugi | Junior Male -63kg | Jacob Fortin | Round of 16 |
| Kyorugi | Junior Male -68kg | Ilya Lenco | Round of 16 |
| *Wildcard athlete |
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