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

ed@taekwondo-canada.com