World Taekwondo Championships Wrap Up

(ATR) Taekwondo athletes from around the globe say they are now aiming for Olympic gold in Tokyo after a week in Manchester at the 2019 World Championships.

A record breaking total of 950 athletes competed in the championships this year, including a four member refugee team competing under the World Taekwondo federation flag.

Jae-Young Sim, Jun Jang, and Da-Bin Lee won gold in the women’s 46kg, men’s 58kg, and women’s 73kg respectively.

With Korea as the home of taekwondo, it's athletes proved themselves to not sink into the pressures of competitions.

Jae-Young Sim took home the first gold medal of the night for the Women’s 46kg weight category, retaining her title as defending world champion.

She says she’s setting her sights for the Olympic games in Tokyo next year.

"Here in Manchester, I felt some pressure as I didn't have the same support from the audience but I was very focused as I was trying to win to maximize qualification points for the Olympics."

Following the championships, Sim will compete in Rome June 7th-9th for the World Taekwondo Grand Prix.

The world champs in Manchester brought back the return of an old face, China’s two time Olympic medalist and three time world champion Jingyu Wu.

Wu made her return to Taekwondo after retiring two years prior after becoming pregnant with her first child.

"Returning was difficult for me, as my body is not the same and I have to leave my baby at home. But I want to break traditions and challenge my dream." Wu said.

In the final competition on day 4 Wu won a silver medal competing against Thailand’s Panipak Wongpattanakit.

During the medals ceremony, Wu expressed great honor to receive her medalby IOC President Thomas Bach, since Wu did not make the podium in Rio 2016.

"Unfortunately, I did not win at the Olympics and I was so disappointed. But it was a complete surprise to be awarded the medal by him here. I feel so honored," Wu said.

Wu wants to keep entering tournaments to gain more points in order to qualify and compete at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

The Championships ended with Korea on top followed by China, and Great Britain finishing the top three rank.

Also during the closing ceremony, there were several awards presented with Koreataking home "Best Men Team Award" and "Best Women Team Award" .

World Taekwondo elected four new athletes to serve on the World Taekwondo Athletes committee for a four year term from 2019-2013. This was the first time World Taekwondo held elections for its Athletes committee.

Elected were Jingyu Wu of China, Nikita Glasnovic from Croatia, Benjamin Haines of Great Britain and Stephen Stephen Lambdin.

During the closing ceremony, the World Taekwondo flag was passed officially from the Manchester committee to Wuxi marking China as the home for the championship in 2021.

Written by Greer Wilson

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