The ITF Taekwondo World Championships 2024 will be hosted in Finland in September. The six talented fighters Leard Xheladini, Bartosz Bien, Sam Keogh, Cara Byrne, Sophie Tapiz and Abi Hickey have been selected to represent Team Ireland in sparring for the following categories; Leard: -87kg Sparring Bartosz: -81kg Sparring Sam: -81kg Sparring Cara: -44kg Sparring Sophie: -60kg Sparring & 1st Dan Patterns Abi: 2nd Dan Patterns All of these athletes will also be competing in numerous team events. Although the athletes have won a plethora of medals in multiple international competitions, they are not directly funded by the Irish government nor Sport Ireland. This has put a strain on the competitors and their parents, who support them, as the cost of competing in these championships is very high. This year, the cost came out to be €1600, making it the most expensive one so far. Leard has been competing for the Irish National Team since 2017. In the 2019 Euros in Bosnia, he won a bronze medal (+75kg), in the 2024 Euros in Spain, he got a silver medal in the -85kg sparring category in his first Senior Championship, and he won another silver in the 2024 Euros in Romania. In 2018, Bartosz joined the national team. Bartosz became a vice European Champion at the 2019 Euros and a Senior European Champion at the 2024 Euros in Croatia. The two boys have fought in team sparring since 2019 and have won a medal at every championship they have competed, bronze at the World Championship in Germany, silver in Bosnia, gold in Spain, bronze in Croatia, and gold in Romania. Sam has been a member of Team Ireland since 2024. Since that time, he has gained much experience in international competitions, attaining 2nd place in team sparring at the 2024 Euros. He makes his senior debut at the 2024 World Championships, where he hopes to make a mark in his new category. This will be Cara's first time competing for the Irish National Team. Cara received her black belt in December and has already won a gold at the Dutch Open. She also had a phenomenal season, winning all three of the major ITA competitions. Sophie has also been selected to fight for the team for the first time, representing them in the World Championships. She is the current Dublin Open Champion at both sparring and special technique and has won a gold and a bronze at the Munster Open in sparring and patterns, respectively. She will be the only athlete from Newlands competing in two individual categories. Abi was the Dutch Open Champion three years in a row between 2016-2018, and has won the Irish Championships various amounts of times both as a junior and senior. Her first appearance for the national team was at the World Championships in Germany 2019, and she has competed at four international championships for the team. She won a bronze medal with her team patterns squad at Euros 2024. These six have been training hard the last couple of months to be in top shape for the upcoming championship. All of them will be going for the World Champion title in their individual sections. The boys will try to win their first World Champion title in team sparring, while the two pre-junior girls will try to medal in team sparring, patterns, and special technique. Abi will also be fighting for the senior female sparring team. However, huge pressure has been put on them as they all have to be able to balance their training, work, college, and school to be able to pay off the extremely high costs, for which they get no support and have to pay themselves. Any donations to cover the athletes trip will be greatly appreciated. We are very thankful.
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