PHILIPSBURG--Four athletes represented St. Maarten at the 30th Puerto Rico International Taekwondo Championship.
Little did they know that they would win six gold and a silver medal at the championship that featured 419 athletes.
Even more important their strong showing earned them an invitation to display their training to the world at the 2023 Han-Ma-Um Kukki Taekwondo Grand Festival in Soul Korea Saturday.
Under the guidance of Grandmaster Theo Liu, a regular training session of the King Yen Taekwondo School of St. Maarten was recorded and has been sent to Korea to be a part of the Kukkiwon 50th Anniversary Celebration.
The Kukkiwon, also known as the World Taekwondo Headquarters, is expecting a large crowd to fill the Gwanghwamun Square and set a Guinness World Record as the largest gathering of Taekwondo students.
In addition to filming a training session the King Yen School recorded a special message for their fellow Taekwondo practitioners.
"Congratulations and thank you Kukkiwon. The group shouted, “We are from St. Maarten in the Caribbean."
Team St. Maarten consisted of Rique-Lee Rosalia age 10 who earned gold in both forms and sparring. Shailen James and Gunesh Natram, both age 11 also won two golds each, taking first in their group in both forms and sparring.
The oldest member of the team Shekinah Carbon age 17, earned a silver medal.
“We have displayed the Taekwondo talent of St. Maarten many times,” said Grandmaster Liu. “After every tournament we receive a lot of invitations from several countries to attend their events.”
This time the young athletes not only showed the world where St. Maarten is on the map, they are bringing the whole school to Korea via a video.
