Gold medals were earned in abundance and a knockout was scored when the members of the Cayman Islands national taekwondo team stepped on the mats during the AAU Taekwondo Gold Coast District Championship.
“We were beyond ecstatic,” Naidelys Eden-Henry, Cayman’s Taekwondo Federation vice president, told the Compass. “All I wanted was for them to go out there and give it their best shot but it goes to show the level of training that these young athletes are undertaking.”
Their training no doubt paid off as the 19 Caymanian taekwondoins represented the 345 competed in board-breaking, forms and sparring on 20 April, at the Airport Convention Center, in Miami, Florida, where they won 52 medals, including 26 golds.
It was the first time the athletes competed in board-breaking but that didn’t stop them from qualifying in that event – an achievement in itself, according to Eden-Henry.
From there, the Cayman athletes, who ranged from ages 7 to 15, dominated in the forms category.
“They all took home gold [in that category] and the ones that didn’t, it was because they were competing against their own teammate,” Eden-Henry said. “They gave no other taekwondo club a chance to get any medals in that category.”
The team would move into sparring – which proved to be thrilling for Cayman and agony for those who opposed.
“Cayman did not come to play,” Eden-Henry said. “We had one of the few knockouts during the tournament by our very own Lucas Chiari and it was a sight to behold.”
Former Sports Minister Bernie Bush, who has worked with the taekwondo federation since it initiated its development strategy four years ago, praised the athletes for their hard-fought victories.
“I would like to congratulate the taekwondo athletes on their continued success,” Bush told the Compass via text. “I would also like to congratulate the president Steve Graham on where the association is. The Olympic committee assisted the association at the beginning of their four-year program for the first two years, and when I became minister, this government assisted them for the next two.
“This is a program that is about the athletes. It’s not about executive members and their family or friends. It’s about the sport and the athletes. Congrats and thanks for making the country, the Olympic committee, the taekwondo association and your families proud.”
The athletes will now continue their preparation for the AAU nationals, set to be held the first week in July.
“We have two months to continue to prepare,” she said. “Nationals will have 5,000-plus [athletes]. So, this is where you go to show what you are made of and we know they are going to represent their country great.”
Eden-Henry ended by encouraging all those taekwondo lovers to come and try out, regardless if they are part of a local club.
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