Team Canada off to South Korea for taekwondo worlds
Taekwondo Canada’s top athletes are headed to Muju, South Korea for the 2017 World Taekwondo Championships.
The weeklong event, running June 24-30, will host 971 taekwondoins from 183 competing countries.
The first Canadian to compete on the women’s side will be Yvette Yong on opening day in the 46kg weight class. Yong recent success includes taking home silver at the 2017 Belgian Open. Prior to that, the Vancouver native reached international podiums eight times in 2016, racking in three gold, one silver, and four bronze.
Melissa Pagnotta of Canada, right, and Oh Hyeri of South Korea compete in a women’s Taekwondo compete in a 67-kg competition at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Friday, Aug. 19, 2016. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Also keep an eye out for Rio Olympian Melissa Pagnotta, who will be competing in the 67kg weight class on June 26. Pagnotta had quite the year in 2016, coming in first place at the Mexico Open, Spanish Open and Pan Am Open. That same year, she made her first Olympic appearance and took home bronze at the German Open.
Alongside her will be Ashley Kraayeveld, who took home gold at the Pan American Championships in 2014. Since then, through 2015 and 2016, she has earned herself five gold, five silver and five bronze. She will be competing on the final day of the tournament in the 62 kg class.
Nathalie Iliesco will also be competing, taking the floor on Wednesday in the 73kg weight class. Iliesco’s first world championship appearance came in 2013, where she reached the top 16. That same year, she won her first international medal at the Dutch Open. In her most recent season, she took home a silver at the 2016 Canada Open and bronze at the WTF President’s Cup.
Also competing on Wednesday is Marc-André Bergeron in the men’s +87kg weight class. Bergeron took home his first gold in 2013 at the Dutch Open and followed that in 2014 with wins at the Pan American Championships and Pan Am Open. In 2016, he reached the podium in five of the six events he competed in – hauling in four bronze and one silver.
Marc-André Bergeron won TO2015 bronze in the men’s +80kg division on July 22.
Former silver medallist at the world championships in 2009, Maxime Potvin, will be competing on June 30 in the 80kg category. To date, Potvin has earned himself 11 gold medals internationally – having a standout year in 2014, where he won three gold in seven tournaments.
Check out the rest of the roster below:
Women
Yvette Yong 46kg
Camille Dallaire-Leblanc 49kg
Andrea Jerom 53kg
Skylar Park 57kg
Ashley Kraayeveld 62kg
Melissa Pagnotta 67kg
Nathalie Iliesco 73kg
Emmanuelle Boudreau +73kg
Men
Anas Sghir 54kg
Nicolas Migneault 58kg
Siddhartha Bhat 63kg
Hervan Nkogho Mengue 68kg
Andrew Park 74kg
Maxime Potvin 80kg
Jordan Stewart 87kg
Marc Andre Bergeron +87kg`
