British Taekwondo had plenty to cheer on day one of the European Poomsae Championships and European Para Poomsae Championships, eight medals won across the two events including five golds.
A further two silver medals and a single bronze made it quite the day for British athletes in Tallinn, as they lit up the Unibet Arena from start to finish on a fantastic day of action in Estonia.
Things started brilliantly and continued to get better on day one of the two-day event, with Iona Craig earning gold in the morning session after a tremendous performance in the P23 Female division. Having overcome Italy’s Stefania Monaco in the semi-final, Iona defeated fellow British athlete Miriam Lowe-Ullah in an all-British final, which set the tone for the rest of the day on the mat.
Ali Pourtaheri earned himself the title of European Champion in the O65 Male division soon after, with the PremierKi member going one better than his silver medal earned in Innsbruck during the previous European Championships back in 2023 after outscoring Frenchman Michel Carron in the final.
Things continued to get better and better on the mat before the lunch interval, with Peter Sellwood [pictured] earning a third gold in the P21 Male event, with compatriot Bradley Brockies edged into third after fine performances from both competitors.
Young cadet Eddie Sobiecki also earned silver in the U14 male class in the early stages of Wednesday’s action, with a fantastic showing to get past Luka Pavlovic of Serbia and Denmark’s Philip Radich-Holde, before booking his place in the final with a victory over Turkey’s Utku Efe.
The European title remained just outside of Eddie’s grasp though, as Greek competitor Nikolaos Karakatsanis took away the top prize, before two more golds in the afternoon session capped a fantastic day for British athletes on the continental stage.
Reigning P21 Female Champion Summer Waheed successfully defended her title with another spectacular performance as the action resumed after lunch, as she added another gold medal to her collection. Summer won gold in Austria two years ago, as well as claiming a World Title last year in Bahrain, and victories over Turkish athlete Gizem Bayrak and Spain’s Athenea Garcia Morales was enough to earn another title this time around, as she continues to excel on the European and World stage.
Adrianna Beard soon made it a resounding five gold medals before the day came to an end, as she became European Champion in the U17 Female division. Her performance highlighted the strength in depth across the British team with three strong performances on the way to the final, where she was to claim the title ahead of French athlete Romane Soukhotine.
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Elsewhere on day one, there were a number of other British athletes in action, with Naomi Lam performing in the U14 Female division, with the young athlete exiting the competition at the Round of 16 stage, while Georgina Ingram (U40 Female) and Laura Muzeja (U50 Female) also produced similar results.
Ajay Singh Rawat went one step better in the U40 Male division to make it through to the quarter-finals, before missing out to France’s Selgi Le Blanc in the last eight.
Renee Marshall lost out to Alexa Laszlo in the Round of 32 in what was a competitive field in the U30 Female division, while Jenny Frness was unable to recreate her sensational bronze from 2023, as she missed out in the quarter-finals this time around.
There were further Round of 16 departures for Nino Ontoy (U30 Male), Louis Exton (U17 Male) and Simon Negus, while Gerry Reilly (U65 Male) and Maria Pieri (U60 Female) were ousted at the quarter-final stage.
Overall, it was a remarkable day of action in Tallinn, with medals being collected at a steady rate through the day, we have our fingers crossed for a similar story on Thursday, as the second day of the European Poomsae Championships promises plenty of action.
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