Record Participation at WTF Para-Taekwondo Championships

Taekwondo’s push for inclusion on the 2020 Paralympic Games Programme has been boosted after record numbers contested the WTF World Para-Taekwondo Championships only a day after the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) signed Memorandums of Understanding (MOU) with two international sport-for-all organisations.

In Lausanne, 86 athletes from 25 nations competed in total – figures that are approximately a third higher than at last year’s tournament in Santa Cruz, Aruba when 58 athletes from 14 countries participated.

At the fourth edition of the championships, Russia topped the medal table with Turkey second and Iran in third place.

Country

Gold

Silver

Bronze

Total

Russia

4

7

2

13

Turkey

4

1

2

7

Iran

3

0

0

3

Azerbaijan

2

6

4

12

Spain

1

1

2

4

France

1

1

1

3

Ukraine

1

1

0

2

The day before the championships, the federation signed MOUs with the International Sport Federation for Para-Athletes with Intellectual Disability (INAS) and the Cerebral Palsy International Sport and Recreation Association (CPISRA).

After the signings, WTF President Chungwon Choue, commented:

"I am proud to announce that the WTF has signed these important Memorandums of Understanding to work together and include new competitors and disciplines into taekwondo.

"As the WTF works towards its dream of taekwondo being included in the Paralympic Games in 2020, it is vital to have the support of – and for us to support and encourage – organisations who share our belief in sport for all and the values of self-discipline, respect and self-awareness.

"Para-taekwondo is fast becoming a popular sport globally and it is testament to how far the sport has spread since the inaugural Games in 2009 that the 59 medals handed out at the tournament were distributed amongst 20 different countries."

The WTF is currently working alongside the Paralympic Family to gain Olympic and Paralympic Games inclusion for the taekwondo disciplines of Kyorugi and Poomsae.

Increasing para-taekwondo’s playing base will benefit this aim hugely and INAS and CPISRA will be valuable partners in connecting the WTF with new potential athletes.

Jean-Marie Ayer, Secretary General of the WTF, said:

"The signing with INAS and CPISRA is a very important step in the development of para-taekwondo activities. We wish to offer the value and benefits of playing taekwondo to as many people as possible and must expand our sport in order to achieve this.

"Organizations such as INAS and CPISRA provide extraordinary pathways towards sport for those who have intellectual and neurological differences. I believe our next steps are working with both of these great new partners to develop grass-roots programmes to nurture new disciplines within taekwondo."

At the WTF Extraordinary Council meeting, also held the day before the WTF World Para-Taekwondo Championships, the following decisions were made:

Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, will hold the 2013 WTF World Cup Team Championships Aguascalientes, Mexico, will hold the 2014 WTF World Poomsae Taekwondo Championships and Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam, will hold the event in 2015 Baku, Azerbaijan, will host the first ever WTF Cadet World Championships in 2014 Chelyabinsk, Russia, will host the 2015 WTF World Taekwondo Championships The WTF’s next milestones are the World Championships in Puebla, Mexico, in July, followed by the World Poomsae Taekwondo Championships in Bali, Indonesia, in October.

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