Beach Taekwondo World Championships were held on 17.8. after a gap of one year, again in connection with the World Championships Week, this time in Leppävaara, Espoo. Due to unstable weather forecasts, the competitions were moved in advance from outdoor to indoor, in the Kameleonte Sports Centre, which served as a backup. Unlike the usual pool competitions, Beach Taekwondo will be contested in a cup format with both competitors (and pairs/groups) performing simultaneously, and instead of scoring points, the judges will vote for the winner in a flag vote.
In the junior categories, Luca Lonka and Josef De Ocampo competed in the Men under 17 category. Luca's power delivery and kicks have improved tremendously and Luca kept his head cool until the end of the series, winning three matches to take gold! Josef also made successful and strong performances, but the silver medalist Topias Elonen (Pori Taekwondo) was still too tough for him in the first round, finishing 5th-8th.
Luca also competed in the pairs category with Aliya Halhul from Wondo Helsinki. They started the series directly from the second round, and with two clear wins in this series they also won gold, so Luca won a double championship in Espoo.
In the under-30 age group, TU had the largest representation with four competitors. In the women's under 30 category, Aino Kortelainen, Sofia Sarala and Anna Vuokila competed. Aino and Sofia made their way through to the semi-finals, where they were eventually knocked out of the final. Both won three matches and took bronze medals in the second biggest series of the Games. It was Anna's first time at the world championship level and she made a great debut. Anna won her first match, and in the second match she was up against Aino, who, being more experienced, won this time. So for Anna, 5th-8th place.
In the men's under 30 category, Alex Jürgens competed and was directly in the final due to his ranking. A clear win for Mats and a championship for Alex. Alex also competed in the singles and doubles, together with Kerttu Salminen from Wondo Espoo. There was no doubt in the finals, Alex and Kerttu won gold and Alex also won a double title.
Aino and Sofia competed in the individual series and in the group series with their new teammate, Mia Knutsson from Wondo Espoo. The debut of this new team went very well and with two clear victories they won gold in this series as well.
In the women's 30+ age group, Marita Jaakkola and Kirsimarja Raitasalo competed. Marita won her semi-final, while Laura Wild (Mudokwan Vantaa), competing in the normal series, beat Kirsimarja in the semi-finals and then narrowly beat Marita in the final. So silver for Marita, bronze for Kirsimaria.
The next races are just over a month away, when on 27 September, one of Finland's traditional biggest races, the Korean Ambassador's Cup, will take place.
All results:
Gold:
- Luca Lonka / Men under 17
- Alex Jürgens / Men under 30
- Luca Lonka & Aliya Halhul (Wondo Helsinki) / Pairs under 17
- Alex Jürgens & Kerttu Salminen (Wondo Espoo) / Couples over 17
- Aino Kortelainen, Sofia Sarala & Mia Knutsson (Wondo Espoo) / Groups over 17
Silver:
- Marita Jaakkola / Women over 30
Bronze:
- Aino Kortelainen / Women under 30
- Sofia Sarala / Women under 30
- Kirsimarja Raitasalo / Women over 30
Sijat 5.-8.:
- Mir Josef De Ocampo / Men under 17
- Anna Vuokila / Women under 30