Essi and Aino in great company at the US Open

This time, Ess and Aino's race trip went a little further away from home, all the way to Las Vegas. The four-day G2-level US Open gathered taekwondo elites from around the world, so Aino and Essi were able to perform in quite a tough company. Although there were no medals this time, the experience was unforgettable and, judging by the race team's reports, it was definitely the last one on the American continent.

Below is Essi's report from the Games:

"The US Open is over for us this year and today we are going home. The competitions were really big, more than 2000 participants. Nevertheless, the arrangements work well. There was some adjustment with schedules and overlaps, but otherwise everything worked well.

On the same day, Aino took part in the match and movement sets, and after her second match, she was able to run almost straight to the stage to perform. Despite that, Aino managed to continue. Aino doesn't want to go to the finaldespite the rites, unfortunately made it. Even in that series, the level is wild. In the match, Aino won her first match nicely and got into the top eight. The opponent of the second match managed to win the points with his escaping style. The referees' actions could be criticized a little, at least from the eyes of a poomsa athlete, but it just has to be so good that nobody manages to win even with such a game. Suvi Mikkonen acted as Aino's coach in the match and the joint play seemed to work well.

The linear under-30 series was a complete battle and the charts published the night before looked really good in terms of progression. Half an hour before the start of the series, the charts were unexpectedly changed and I got the USA World Cup representative as my first opponent. A really tough opponent dampened the mood a bit, but on the other hand it also gave the freedom to shoot at full blast without any backup. In that sense, I was able to perform hard, although I didn't manage to beat my opponent. Well, you just have to be so good that you can beat anyone. :)"

T. Essi

Photo from Long Beach, Los Angeles. (For the next trip, we need a photographer with a decent camera)