Fairfax Teen Wins Gold Medal in Taekwondo, Begins Training With Olympic Coaches

Jacob Chung, a rising Fairfax High School freshman, is in great spirits lately, since he just returned from Chicago, where he brought home a gold medal from the 2013 Taekwondo National Championships.
 
In addition to his shiny new medal, he also earned himself a spot on the U.S. Cadet National Team.

The event, which took place at Chicago's McCormick Place July 3-8, drew 4,190 competitors from around the country.  It is typically the largest annual Taekwondo event in the world.

Placing in this competition is the first step towards competing in the 2016 Summer Olympics, in which Taekwondo is an official full medal sport.

At Nationals, students from all over the country compete in any of the following three events: forms (poomsae), sparring (gyu-roo-gi) and/or board breaking (kyuk-pa). There is the World-Class division, which takes you to closer to the Olympics; and the Grass-Roots division, which gives athletes "an unparalleled experience," representatives say.

Jacob had his first experience on the National stage last year in the Grass-roots division.

"He fought and won all four matches and climbed his way to capture the Gold Medal [this year]," said representative Julia Chang. "Only if an athlete places first in Grass-roots are they given the opportunity to compete in the World-Class division. Jacob earned that opportunity. He fought three more matches and ultimately placed Silver [last year] – an amazing, rare, first-time experience."

This year, Jacob qualified to compete in the World Class division in the Cadet 12-14 year-old category in sparring.

"Receiving the first round 'bye' due to his exceptional record, Jacob had three matches and nine rounds in total. Each round is 90 seconds long," Chang explained.

Chang said, for the first time ever, USA Taekwondo has created a national team for the 12-14 year-old category, which is the Cadet National Team. By capturing gold in the World-class division, Jacob has earned a spot on the Cadet National Team.

This means, he has been invited to train at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs to work with the U.S. Taekwondo National and Olympic Coaches and compete in the Junior Pan American Open in Queretaro, Mexico, coming up this September.

Grandmaster Myung Hak Kang, founder of U.S. Taekwondo College, said, “I am very proud of Jacob. He is representing Taekwondo as a sport, and the state of Virginia, as well as the U.S. Tae Kwon Do College. We are excited to see what he learns at the Olympic Training Center and look forward to his continued growth in the sport.”

U.S. Taekwondo College is a chain of martial arts schools in Northern Virginia. It is one of the premier schools in North America, having taught the sport since 1972. There are several locations in the Washington Metropolitan area.

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