The winners of the first Online World Taekwondo Poomsae Championships have been confirmed after the best athletes were whittled down from more than 1,500 athletes from 98 countries.
The winners represented the wonderful diversity of taekwondo with young and old; elite and amateur all taking home the top honours.
The Championships was split into two competitions – the Online World Taekwondo G2 Poomsae Championships, open only to athletes who are members of their national team; and the Online World Taekwondo Open Poomsae Championships open to cadet, junior and families of all ages.
Speaking following the conclusion of the Championships, World Taekwondo President Chungwon Choue said:
“Our congratulations go out to all the winners of the historic Online World Taekwondo Poomsae Championships. However, it is not just the winners who we congratulate. All the athletes who take part should be very proud of what they achieved and we are grateful to all of them for inspiring us during these difficult times.
“People of all ages, genders, backgrounds and abilities took part in the World Taekwondo Poomsae Championships. They showed us that sport is not all about winning; it is about taking part, having fun and staying active. These values are more important than ever in the current world we are living in and taekwondo is a sport that is accessible to all and brings far-reaching benefits.”
The full list of gold medallists can be found below:
Online World Taekwondo G2 Poomsae Championships
Under 30 division
• Wan-Jin, Kang (Korea, Men)
o Kang has won gold medals at many major Poomsae events including most recently the 2019 Napoli Universidad (Individual, Team) and 2018 World Taekwondo Poomsae Championships (Team)
• Ji-su, Kim (Korea, Women)
o Kim won silver in the individual and gold in the pair at the 2018 World Taekwondo Poomsae Championship. She was also a member of the World Taekwondo Demonstration Team in 2019-2020
Under 40 division
• Ernesto Guzma Jr. (Philippines, Men)
o A decorated Poomsae athlete he has won golds in the 2013, 2014 and 2016 World Taekwondo Poomsae Championships in the male team division. He also took silver in the 2018 World Taekwondo Poomsae Championships in the male team division
• Yu-Jin Kang (Korea, Women)
o Kang won gold at the 2008 World Taekwondo Poomsae Championships in the individual category. She also won gold at the 2011 Universidad in the female team division
Under 50 division
• Jin-han Lee (Korea, Men)
o Lee won gold in the in the individual category at the 2016 World Taekwondo Poomsae Championships
• Yeon-Bu Kim (Korea, Women)
o Kim won gold in the individual category at the 2018 World Taekwondo Poomsae Championships
Under 60 division
• Jae-young Um (Korea, Men)
o Um won gold at the 2011 World Taekwondo Poomsae Championships
• Elva Adams (USA, Women)
o Adams overcame Young Ae Seo, who has won eight times, with a score difference of 0.03. Adams previously won bronze in the female team division of the 2018 World Taekwondo Poomsae Championships
Under 65 division
• Kang-soo Lee(Korea, Men)
o Lee has been an athlete since 2007 but the Denmark Poomsae Championships was supposed to be his first competition as an athlete representing Korea, but it was cancelled and so he participated in the Online World Taekwondo Poomsae Championships.
• Barbara Brand (USA, Women)
o Brand won bronze in the individual division at the 2010 World Taekwondo Poomsae Championships and in the female team division at the 2007 and 2008 World Taekwondo Poomsae Championships
Over 65 division
• Jeong Cheol Kim (Spain, Men)
o Kim won golds in 2012,2013 and 2014 World Taekwondo Poomsae Championships
• Iris Hitzemann (Germany, Women)
o This is Hitzemann’s first gold medal in a World Taekwondo promoted event. Hitzemann previously won silver at the 2019 European Poomsae Championships
Freestyle Over 18 division
• Kyusung Yun (Korea, Men)
o Yun won gold in the 2018 World Taekwondo Poomsae Championships in the Freestyle Pair division
• Michelle Lee (Canada, Women)
o Lee won bronze in the individual freestyle at the 2016 and 2018 World Taekwondo Poomsae Championships and gold at the 2019 PanAm Games
Online World Taekwondo Open Poomsae Championships
Cadet division
• Sunghyun Eric Gun (USA, Men)
o Gun won bronze in the Cadet team division at the 2018 World Taekwondo Poomsae Championships
• Mikayla Kamora Xiong (USA, Women)
o Xiong won silver in 2nd WTPA Online Poomsae Championships in the individual division
Junior division
• Junho Kim (Korea, Men)
o Kim has won several medals in national events and this is his first gold medal in an international event.
• Kaitlyn Marie Reclusado (USA, Women)
o Reclusado won silver in the individual division at the 2020 PanAm Open Poomsae Championships
Family Pair division
• Hamid Nazari Gharechmagh and Reza Nazari Gharechmagh (Iran)
o Hamid Nazari Gharechmagh, who is the father in this category won bronze at the 2009 World Taekwondo Poomsae Championships
Family Team A division (composed of more than two generations)
• Yewon Jeong, Sangok Jeong and Yerim Jeong (USA)
o The family runs a taekwondo club in the USA and are taekwondo masters. The father and daughter won bronze in the Family Pair division at this event
Family Team B division (composed of more than three generations)
• Hamid Nazari Gharechmagh, Hosseinali Nazari Gharechmagh, Reza Nazari Gharechmagh (Iran)
o Hamid Nazari Gharechmagh and Reza Nazari Gharechmagh also won gold in the Family Pair division at this event
Refugee division (no limit on age. Five refugee athletes participated for the events)
• Wael Alfarag
o He won gold with the highest score among the five participating refugee athletes.
