As Canada sits in a ten-way tie for 17^th place in the Olympic medal count, some of our most promising athletes have yet to take stage. Could Taekwondo be the sport that fulfills the Canadian Olympic Committee’s top-16 goal?

Karine Sergerie

If Sports Illustrated predictions are right, that’s exactly what we’ll see. The popular magazine predicts 15 total medals for Canada, an estimate derived from examining every athletes’ international performances. It should be noted that all three Taekwondo Team members made the list. If this prediction holds true, then Taekwondo’s team of three — less than 1 percent of all Canadian Olympians — will…

With only eight days of training to go the Canadian Olympic Taekwondo team is approaching peak condition in Busan, South Korea. The team attended the Opening Ceremonies on August 8, then immediately retreated to Busan for the primary purpose of escaping the commotion and distractions within the Athlete Village.

Sergerie and Michaud training in Busan (photo: Dr. Terry DeFreitas)

Gonda and sparring partner (photo: Dr. Terry DeFreitas)

Two Korean girls who were earlier scouted for their talent have been the main sparring partners for Karine Sergerie and Ivett Gonda. Sébastien Michaud is training with Middleweight Canadian Champion François Coulombe-Fortier. In addition to providing…

The Canadian Hanmadang Team is now competing in the 2008 Hanmadang Games which run from July 16-20 in Anaheim California. The Hanmadang encompases several non-combat aspects of Taekwondo; in a sense, it’s the Olympics for the martial art stream of Taekwondo. Events include poomsae (patterns), hoshinsool (self-defense), and kyukpa (breaking), each of which has a video explanation on the official site.

This is the first Hanmadang in 17 years to be held outside of Korea, a decision intended to make the event more accessible to American competitors according to the hosting United States Taekwondo Federation (USTF). This is also the first…

A new video study has found that the red player may receive favourable scoring by the corner referees.

42 Taekwondo referees were asked to score various clips of sparring video. Even when the colour of chest protectors and helmets were digitally switched, red came out with 13 percent more points, although their performances were identical.

This adds to existing research which shows red clothing positively impacts an athlete’s performance even when they’re not being judged. This is attributed to an association between the colour red and dominance and/or aggression.

So should we be fighting to wear the red hogu at tournaments? In…

Karine Sergerie was supposed to be in Athens. Instead she was at a restaurant in Quebec waiting for a movie to start, trying to think about anything else.

» Full article: cbc.ca

The World Taekwondo Federation has revealed its offical Taekwondo Anthem, the result of an international contest receiving a total of six entries from four countries. While eight lyrics were also received, the WTF has decided to extend the competition so that entrants can write lyrics more appropriate to the chosen music.

» 2006 WTF News Release

Twenty proud Taekwondo athletes fought their way onto the National Team earlier this week in Calgary, Alberta. The Junior Team (A division—14-17 years old) will represent Canada at the Junior World Championships next month in Turkey.

Jadon Nahibuan (Team Ontario) fighting in Division C Flyweight (photo: Exposurenet.com)

Canadian Olympic Team Michaud, Sergerie, and Gonda pose in Calgary (photo: Exposurenet.com)

Spectators and athletes were delighted at the chance to meet…

It’s time again for Canada’s top senior Taekwondo black belts to battle one another for the prized spots on the national podium. And again this year it’s being hosted at Montreal’s Centre Claude Robillard, an excellent venue with ample seating. As always this is a two-day event, spanning March 8-9.

The fights have been posted (see links below) and include many exciting, as well as unusual matches. Several experienced fighters have switched weight categories, possibly to avoid—and in some cases to target—the strongest players.

While most athletes have spent months training for this event, some have had bigger concerns. Canada’s Olympic hopefuls—Karine…

Photos by Dr. Terry DeFreitas

Karine and Coach Master Mourad gaze East past the mountains of Columbia toward Beijing, while anxiously awaiting the final match that would seal their Olympic dream

Karine Sergerie, who just seven months ago became Canada’s first World Taekwondo Champion, will now very likely be an Olympian too. Her and fellow Quebecer Jocelyn Addison are returning from the Pan American Qualifier in Columbia, where participating nations battled to send their players to the Beijing Olympics.

Team Doctor Terry DeFreitas recaps Sergerie’s fights:

Karine Sergerie faced Andrea Bedard representing Grenada in her first match. Ultimately Karine was victorious. Her next match…