(February 18, 2016) -- An important step in Rio de Janeiro's preparations for this summer's Olympic Games takes place this weekend with the Aquece Rio International Taekwondo Tournament. The two-day event, held Feb. 20-21, is a test event for the taekwondo venue, and USA Taekwondo is sending a delegation of nine athletes and five team officials to participate. The tournament is a G-1 rated event and Olympic ranking points will be awarded.
The three main objectives of test events are to allow the organizing committee to:
-test the field of play and all athlete facilities
-train, coordinate and evaluate staff and contractors and volunteer performance in an environment
-evaluate the performance of the technology systems and processes supporting all functional aspects of the venue and the overall Games environment
The United States will be represented at the event by the following athletes and officials:
Men's -58kg
Logan Gerick (Keller, Texas)
Men's +80kg
Hanssel Llanos (Carrollton, Texas)
Thomas Rahimi (Irving, Texas)
Jonathan Healy (Spring, Texas)
Mauricio Newman (Sunnyvale, Texas)
Kareem Martin (Dothan, Ala.)
Women's -49kg
Kelsey Junious (South Windsor, Conn.)
Women's -57kg
Carissa Fu (Yorba Linda, Calif.)
Aziza Chambers (Springfield, Ohio)
Staff
Bruce Harris, Head of Team
Christina Bayley, Coach
Alvaro Mendez, Coach
Gary Galloway, Coach
Sherri LaShomb, Doctor
USA Taekwondo sends its best wishes to the athletes and staff participating in this important event.
