It’s hard to believe that for all the past and present talent in Canada, the country has never won gold at a Taekwondo World Championships. Well that’s no longer true. Quebec’s Karine Sergerie smashed the dry spell with a stellar performance at this year’s Championships in Beijing, and few could argue that anybody deserves it move than her.
Karine Sergerie leaps for joy moments after winning gold
The 2007 Championship was a record-breaker for size with over 1,400 elite athletes and officials from 116 countries in attendance. The event follows Olympic Taekwondo rules with one exception: eight weight divisions are run instead of four, allowing more participants and tighter competition.
Opening Ceremonies at the World Championships
Karine kicks off homecoming celebrations (photo by Reggie Ralph)
The truth is that despite having a very strong Canadian Team this year, Karine was a favourite all along for many Taekwondo fans. She had already collected silver and bronze World Championship medals (2003 and 2005) and had the experience and conviction to win the complete set. But even more amazing than the feat itself was how she accomplished it. After disposing of her first several opponents Sergerie met Korea’s Park Hye Mi in the finals. By the end of the second round Karine was losing 0-3, a desperate situation in the best of times, but more so against an experienced opponent of this caliber. “I trusted my coach and kept patient” Karine said of her bout. “Deep down I knew I needed to follow the plan I made before the match and it worked out well.” Her aggressive plan worked well enough to tie the score 3-3, sending them to a very tense sudden death which Karine won.
Sebastién Michaud takes bronze
It was another Quebecer that put the men’s team on the map. Sebastién Michaud blasted his way onto the Canadian scene two years ago with his first National gold and has been untouchable ever since. In Beijing he won his first three matches but was stopped by USA’s Olympic gold medalist Steven Lopez in the quarter-finals, putting Michaud on the podium with a bronze medal. The last time Canada’s male team scored a World Championship medal was 14 years ago, a fact that illustrates the extreme level of competition involved.
Other Canadian athletes were stopped just short of the podium. Yvette Yong (Women’s Finweight), Courtney Condie (Women’s Welterweight), Dasha Peregoudova (Women’s Middleweight), and J.F. Lebreux (Men’s Lighweight) all placed in the top 8 of their divisions. The outstanding overall performance of our Women’s Team placed it third in the team standings. In a related matter it was Canadian Women’s Team Coach Jamie Dossantos that received the Best Female Coach Award (best Male Coach went to Spain’s Francisco Martin).
The next major event is the 2007 Pan Am Games in Brazil, but all eyes at this point are on the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. In the Canadian Taekwondo ranking point system Karine Sergerie is firmly in the lead, giving her the greatest chance to qualify her division for the Olympic Games and to ultimately represent Canada there.
| Canadian Team Results: 2007 WTF Taekwondo World Championships, Beijing | ||
| Female | ||
| Fin | Yvette Yong (BC) | Top 8 |
| Fly | Ivett Gonda (BC) | Top 16 |
| Bantam | Shannon Condie (ON) | Top 16 |
| Feather | Melissa Pagnotta (ON) | Top 64 |
| Light | Karine Sergerie (QC) | Gold |
| Welter | Courtney Condie (ON) | Top 8 |
| Middle | Dasha Peregoudova (ON) | Top 8 |
| Heavy | Dominique Bosshart (ON) | Top 16 |
| Male | ||
| Fin | Maikol Pinto (ON) | Top 64 |
| Fly | Jocelyn Addison (QC) | Top 16 |
| Bantam | Ali Ghafour (ON) | Top 64 |
| Feather | Akmal Farah (ON) | Top 64 |
| Light | J.F. Lebreux (QC) | Top 8 |
| Welter | Sébastien Michaud (QC) | Bronze |
| Middle | Michael Kitschke (MB) | Top 32 |
| Heavy | Eric Ahn (ON) | Top 32 |
» Event Photos
» 2007 WTF World Taekwondo Championships site
» 2007 World Championships DVDs
Now let me give you a little insight into the art of refereeing and what it’s like from a referee’s perspective. We are just as nervous, if not more so, than the players. We have to be. It’s our job to protect both players and ensure the competition rules are followed. Stepping on the competition floor is stepping into the unknown. We prepare for and expect the worse – such as will it be a clean fight, will players follow the rules, will one be injured, will I be injured, and will I make the right decisions? And just like in the real world the worse rarely happens, but knowing that it could keeps us on a heightened sense of readiness and anticipation. As referees, we desire to be part of the game but not placed in a position to decide the outcome. We know we have done our job well when we are but a ghost in the ring, only appearing to start and end the match and remind the players of the rules, this is the ideal of a good referee.
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