2008 WUTC Summary, Team USA

The US delegation at the beginning of competition, from left to right: Coach Steve Dring, Coach Dave Pelham, Team Leader Rex Hatfield, Manager Heidi Fagerquist, Stephen Lambdin, Dennis Rudasill, Luke Ford, Stephan Webb, Tal Moriah, Jermaine James, Christian Valencia, John Duhart, Markie Keelan, Danielle Pelham, Aziza Chambers, Stephanie Mackay, Christina Johnson, Darcy Kimmich, Sanaz Shahbazi, Amanda Nissen, Doctor Sherri Lashomb, Coach/Manager Linda Buell, Coach/Manager Dan Chuang and Coach Scott Fujii.

July 17, 2008 - Day One

Four team members competed today on the first day of competition on Thursday, July 17, 2008.

John Duhart (fin) earned the only medal for Team USA on Day 1, earning a BRONZE medal. He won his first match by withdrawal over Kenya, followed by a 6-4 win over a strong competitor from Egypt to earn a spot in the semifinals. He lost against the eventual gold medalist from Korea in the semifinals by a score of 4-1.

John Duhart with bronze medal and Coach Dan Chuang

Stefan Webb (light) also had a very strong performance. He beat the reigning Dutch Open champion from Serbia in the first round 5-2, won his second match 3-0 over Switzerland, and lost heartbreaking match against Korea 5-4 in the quarterfinals, with the winning point scored in the final seconds of the match.

Stephan Webb signs an autograph for a Serbian fan after his quarterfinal performance.

Markie Keelan (fin) fought a very close first match against the reigning world champion from China. She lost 1-0, with the winning point occurring in the final seconds of the match.

Christina Johnson (light) had a tough first-round match against Croatia, the eventual bronze medalist. The score was 4-0, with 2 of Christina's points negated by penalties.

Tomorrow, Friday, July 18, 2008, Danielle Pelham (fly) starts off the day against Brazil, Luke Ford (welter) meets Korea in his first match, Stephen Lambdin (heavy) meets Egypt in the first round, and Aziza Chambers (bantam) meets Korea in the first round.

Day 1 Results

Men's Fin

1) Kil-Sang Moon (Korea)
2) Yu-Yao Tseng (Chinese Taipei)
3) John Duhart (USA)
3) Remzi Basakbugday (Turkey)

Women's Fin

1) Ju-Yi Ting (Chinese Taipei)
2) Katia Arakaki (Brazil)
3) Yenitse Alvarez (Cuba)
3) JingYun Wu (China)

Men's Light

1) Alireza Nassrazadany (Iran)
2) Young-Sun Lee (Korea)
3) Sendar Akin (Turkey)
3) Damir Radovic (Croatia)

Women's Light

1) Tamara Good Willens Housen (Spain)
2) Yulia Akimova (Russia)
3) Petra Matijasevic (Croatia)
3) Chiung-Fang Chang (Chinese Taipei)

July 18, 2008 - Day Two

Four team members competed today on the second day of competition on Friday, July 18, 2008.

Men's Team captain Stephen Lambdin (heavy) led the way on day 2 earning a BRONZE medal for Team USA. He won his first match over Egypt 7-3, followed by a dramatic 3-1 win over Poland, during with the go-ahead points were scored on a spinning hook kick. He met the home favorite from Serbia in the semifinals. The match was a dramatic one, with Team USA and the home crowd competing to make the most noise with their cheers and drumming. Unfortunately, Stephen did not advance, with Serbia winning 2-1. Serbia went on to win the gold medal in the finals by point gap over Iran.

Stephen Lambdin with bronze medal and Coach Scott Fujii

Luke Ford (welter) met a competitor in Korea on the first round of play. Luke sparred well throughout the match, and despite some solid kicks that knocked his opponent to the ground, he did not advance. The final score was 4-2.

Danielle Pelham (fly) met a tough (and very tall!) competitor from Brazil in the first round. She managed the match well but unfortunately didn't advance, the final score being 2-(-1).

Aziza Chambers (bantam) met the eventual gold medalist from Korea in the first round. Korea went up early with some head kicks, but Aziza hung tough and worked through all 3 rounds, with the final score being 6-(-1).

Tomorrow, Saturday, July 19, 2008, Stephanie Mackay (feather) meets Korea in the first round. Former collegiate world champion Sanaz Shahbazi (middle) also meets Korea in the first round. Tal Moriah (feather) meets Serbia in the first round, and Dennis Rudasill (middle) meets Turkey in the first round.

Best of luck to all athletes!

Below are the medalists from day 2 of competition.

Day 2 Results

Men's Welter

1) Rouhollah Talebi Kahangi (Iran)
2) Andre Bilia (Brazil)
3) Alabey Gullu (Turkey)
3) Sergey Dozortsev (Russia)

Women's Fly

1) Sevde Mavi (Turkey)
2) Hui-Chiao Luan (Chinese Taipei)
3) Ji Lin (China)
3) Daynellis Montejo (Cuba)

Mens' Heavy

1) Vanja Babic (Serbia)
2) Hosein Tajik (Iran)
3) Stephen Lambdin (USA)
3) Robert Vossen (Germany)

Women's Bantam

1) Jin-Ah Nam (Korea)
2) Yi-Hsuan Tseng (Chinese Taipei)
3) Shannon Condie (Canada)
3) Sibel Yildririm (Turkey)

July 19, 2008 - Day Three

Four team members competed today on the third day of competition on Saturday, July 19, 2008.

Tal Moriah (feather) had the most successful campaign of the day, reaching the quarterfinals. He opened the day with a 7-0 point-gap win over Serbia. He followed it by a 4-2 win over China, scoring some strong counters and withstanding a strong flurry from the Chinese player in the third round. He was stopped in the quarterfinals only by the eventual gold medalist from Iran. The score in that match was 3-0.

Team Leader Rex Hatifield (left) and Nir Moriah (right) take in the scene in the athlete holding area

Dennis Rudasill (middle) met a tough competitor from Turkey in the first round. While he scored some solid counters, he didn't advance. The final score was 7-2.

Sanaz Shahbazi (middle) met Korea, the eventual silver medalist, in the first round. Sanaz managed the match well and landed a number of strong kicks, but Korea prevailed in a very tight match with a score of 2-1.

Sanaz Shahbazi (blue) faces off against Eun-Seo Shin of Korea (red)

Stephanie Mackay (feather) also met Korea, the eventual silver medalist, in the first round. The match was close throughout the first two rounds with some great exchanges, but Korea was able to pull away in the third round. The final score was 5-1.

While the results were disappointing for the team today, spirits remain high and the team is optimistic for the fourth and final day of competition on July 20. Tomorrow, female team captain Darcy Kimmich (welter) meets Chinese Taipei in the first round. Amanda Nissen (heavy) meets the winner of Serbia and Canada in her first match. Christian Valencia (fly) meets Russia in his first match, and Jermaine James (bantam) meets Japan in his first match.

Below are the medalists from day 3 of competition.

Day 3 Results

Men's Feather

1) Mohammad Bagheri Motamed (Iran)
2) Soon-Kil Lee (Korea)
3) Christopher Dubois (France)
3) Cesar Mari Puerta (Spain)

Men's Middle

1) In-Ho Lee (Korea)
2) Ivan Nikitin (Russia)
3) Ali Sari (Turkey)
3) Ming-Che Yuan (Chinese Taipei)

Women's Feather

1) Pei-Hua Tseng (Chinese Taipei)
2) Estefania Hernandez Garcia (Spain)
3) Louz Deborah (Netherlands)
3) Hae-Ree Wang (Korea)

Women's Middle

1) Kecui Gu (China)
2) Eun-Seo Shin (Korea)
3) Selviana Angelia Rosok (Indonesia)
3) Anna Kodratieva (Ukraine)

July 20, 2008 - Day Four

Four team members competed today on the fourth day of competition on Sunday, July 20, 2008.

Women's team captain Darcy Kimmich (welter) had the best result of the tournament for team USA, earning a SILVER medal. She scored wins over athletes from Taekwondo powerhouses Chinese Taipei and Korea in the quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively. Against Chinese Taipei, she won by superiority in sudden death after a 2-2 score during the first 3 rounds. Against Korea, she won by a score of 1-0. In the finals, Darcy fought Poland, where she lost by a score of 2-1 in a tightly contested match that wasn't decided until the final minute. Darcy was much loved by the Serbians whom she had met throughout the week; a group of Serbian fans wore customized t-shirts spelling "GO DARCY!!!" and cheered her loudly throughout all her matches, creating an electric atmosphere in the stadium.

Darcy Kimmich earns a silver medal

Darcy Kimmich's Serbian cheering section

Jermaine James (bantam) reached the quarterfinals with a win over Japan on a score of 4-3. He scored the winning point during that match in the final 5 seconds with a counter double roundhouse kick. During his quarterfinal, he fought a very tense match with the eventual silver medalist from Spain. After leading by 2, then trailing by 1, he tied the match in the closing seconds to force an overtime round on a score of 2-2. Unfortunately, he did not advance as Spain scored the winning point in overtime.

Jermaine James and Christian Valencia lead Team USA in a cheer

Amanda Nissen (heavy) met the eventual bronze medalist from Canada in her first match. It was very tight all the way with some excellent exchanges but Canada advanced 2-1.

Amanda Nissen (red) vs. Megdalena Szczotka of Canada (blue)

Christian Valencia (fly) met a strong competitor from Russia in his first match. He was able to make some good contact and engage his opponent actively throughout the match, but Russia advanced on a 5-0 score.

This concludes the summary of the 2008 World University Taekwondo Championships in Belgrade, Serbia. The team leader for the US delegation was Rex Hatfield, who also served on the tournament's arbitration committee. Attending as referees were Victoria Serbin and Larry Cain. Serving as both coaches and managers were Linda Buell and Dan Chuang. Steve Dring, Scott Fujii and Dave Pelham were coaches on the trip. The overall team manager was Heidi Fagerquist, and Dr. Sherri LaShomb was the team doctor.

The US delegation at the end of competition, from left to right: Team Leader Rex Hatfield, Coach/Manager Dan Chuang, Manager Heidi Fagerquist, Coach Steve Dring, Amanda Nissen, Stephen Lambdin, Dennis Rudasill, Sanaz Shahbazi, Luke Ford, Darcy Kimmich, Stephan Webb, Christina Johnson, Stephanie Mackay, Tal Moriah, Aziza Chambers, Jermaine James, Danielle Pelham, Christian Valencia, Markie Keelan, John Duhart, Referee Victoria Serbin, Coach Dave Pelham, Doctor Sherri Lashomb, Coach Scott Fujii and Referee Larry Cain. Not pictured is Coach/Manager Linda Buell.

Below are the medalists from day 4 of competition.

Women's Welter

1) Natalia Rybarczyk (Poland)
2) Darcy Kimmich (USA)
3) Gulcin Karakus (Turkey)
3) So-Young Seo (Korea)

Women's Heavy

1) Seung-Hee Kim (Korea)
2) Tzu-Hui Chan (Chinese Taipei)
3) Megdalena Szczotka (Canada)
3) Tuba Abus (Turkey)

Men's Fly

1) Joel Gonzalez Bonilla (Spain)
2) Mehdi Ahmadi (Iran)
3) Chan-Gi Jeong (Korea)
3) Chao-Hsuan Hsueh (Chinese Taipei)

Men's Bantam

1) Min-Wook Jeong (Korea)
2) Bruno Garcia Fernandez (Spain)
3) Judickael Boyer (France)
3) Mohammadreza Mehduzadeh (Iran)

For full results, go to: http://www.tas.org.yu/wutc2008/results.html