Edgewater Girl Wins Gold at State Taekwondo Championship

Six months of preparation paid off for Edgewater’s Xena Sawyer last weekend as she took home a gold and bronze medal at the AAU Taekwondo Maryland State Championship in Waldorf.

Xena, 8, trained six days a week for six months straight for the tournament. As part of the, she won the gold medal in the form competition and the bronze medal in point sparring.

“My hard work—since not even placing in the same tournament last year—really paid off,” Xena told Patch in an email. “I still can’t believe I won. I felt shaky with excitement.”

Xena and her parents wanted to thank the trainers and coaches who helped her reach this new level of achievement. 

The AU Competition Team at won 88 medals with 60 different competitors, said Chris Sawyer, Xena’s father.