This past weekend, the University of Colorado Boulder was well represented in Taekwondo at the 2022 FISU America Games in Merida, Mexico in Yucatan.
Kaliyah Saunders qualified to represent Collegiate Team USA through her performance at the National Collegiate Taekwondo Association (NCTA) National Championship back in April 2022. Joining her in Merida was CU's very own head coach, David Lee, who was appointed as one of the sparring coaches for Team USA.
The FISU Games is a 13-day event involving 31 countries and 15 sports, including Taekwondo. This was Team USA's first year participating in the games, serving as a trailblazing moment and setting the precedent for future promising athletes.
There are three main events for Taekwondo spanning three days: sparring, poomsae, and team sparring. Team USA was well represented with 16 sparring athletes and 7 poomsae student athletes from colleges and universities all over the United States. USA finished third in overall standings while accumulating 3 Gold, 9 Silver, and 10 Bronze medals.
Kaliyah finished with a Silver Medal, losing in the finals to one of the top ranked fighters in the heavyweight division.
Coach David helped secure 3 Bronze, 1 Silver, and 1 Gold for Team USA, including an unlikely Gold medal run for an relatively unknown athlete from Liberty University and an exciting sudden death overtime win in team sparring to help secure Bronze over Costa Rica.
"Organizations like NCTA help students in the United States come together to compete and celebrate the accomplishments of our athletes in this amazing sport," added Coach David. "But events like FISU extend that opportunity internationally and it really helps grow the love of this sport into a worldwide community. It's spine-chilling to compete in an arena with 'USA!' chants in one moment, and the next moment athletes are eating together at the cafeteria and trading country emblems."
Both Kaliyah and Coach David return to campus this week to resume regular practice at the Rec Center through Club Sports. The Taekwondo team will be preparing for upcoming scrimmages and the 2023 Collegiate Nationals with high hopes to represent CU and Team USA in Chengdu, China at the 2023 Summer World University Games.
