By Dafydd Jones
TAEKWONDO Cymru coach Sarah Farthing believes the future is bright for the sport in Wales after a successful weekend at the British Championships.
Wales, remarkably, placed 14th out of 65 teams, with their nine players accumulating 12 medals.
Farthing heroically earned a gold medal, with Iestyn Paul and Amelia Elis notably securing silver.
Keira Enfield, Katie Eley, Grace Cole, Zoe Stephens, Lola Williams and Ellie Cain all earned bronze medals, while valiant performances from Georgia Paul, David Stephens and Ffion Jenkins saw them reach the quarter-finals.
It was a hugely successful weekend for Wales, with Head of Taekwondo Cymru Master Porl Stone stating that the club exceeded expectations.
Gold-medalist Farthing insisted the championships can be a catalyst going forward.
“It’s phenomenal. The talent has always been in Wales, but it was a case of getting everyone together under one umbrella,”she said.
“We’re really fortunate that students have attracted students to Taekwondo Cymru. They’ve been posting on social media and everyone is seeing what we’re doing, how professional everything is run.
“As a coach, seeing all the talent is amazing. It’s a really big deal to put Wales on the map.
“It will hopefully put so much more confidence in grassroots sports in Wales. Just to even get there was a massive deal for us because it brought a unity and a focus to us.
“Hopefully, we can use that as a foundation now to go to other competitions, fight abroad, go back into Europe like we used to do. We’re hoping that this can be the start of something special.”
Taekwondo Cymru prepared for the championships at Hangar Human Performance Centre in Cardiff and at Little Mill Village Mall in Pontypool.
Farthing said months of hard-work went into the success in London.
She added: “The preparations were really intense. Five of our students are in the Great Britain Taekwondo development squad, so it was really important to help them get on the podium.
“We held training caps, sparring days. It’s was really difficult. Everyone had to make sure they were on their weights.
“It was really enjoyable though because it gave us a focus, everyone really went for it.”
It was a difficult period for Taekwondo Cymru during the pandemic, with the previous British Taewondo Championships unable to go ahead.
The return of competitive Taekwondo was a long time coming for Farthing, but was a prospect that meant a great deal.
“It’s the most prestigious competition in Olympic-style Taekwondo in Great Britain. There wasn’t one last year due to the lockdown, so it was really built up.
“It meant a lot to everyone all over Great Britain because it was the first one since 2019.
“It almost felt like it wasn’t real because people hadn’t competed in over 18 months. The prospect of actually getting on the mat and getting out of Wales, competing at the Copper Box Arena, was huge.
“Not only stepping on the mat, but also competing for medals and going for championship titles, it was fantastic.”