Taipei City, Chinese Taipei - (Nov. 16, 2018) -- Team USA brought its total medal count to 11 for the 2018 World Poomsae Championships on Friday's second day of competition. The team added a silver and five bronze for a total of one gold, three silver and seven bronze over the first two days. The team impressively earned medals in six of the possible 11 divisions contested during a long day that ended after 10 p.m.

 

Perhaps the most memorable match-up of the day was in the finals of the Over 65 Individual Male division, in which Chi Duong earned a silver medal. Duong advanced from the semifinal cut-off round to the final 8 single elimination round, where he won two head-to-head rounds to meet powerhouse Korea in the finals. In a match that the whole tournament stopped to watch, with spirited cheering from both USA and Korea teams, Duong narrowly lost a close contest to take a well-earned silver medal. Said Duong, who has three times represented Team USA before at the World Poomsae Championships, "The differences this year were that I was competing without both ACLs due to an accident last fall, and also that this year there were 14 people in my division, which was both challenging and excellent, pushing me hard for the next [World Poomsae Championships] in Copenhagen in 2020."

 

Earning a bronze medal in the Team Cadet Male division were Sunghyun Eric Gun, Dylan Mai and Sergio Paez. The trio advanced from the semifinal cut-off round to the final 8 single elimination round, where they advanced over Vietnam to earn the bronze medal. Said the team in a joint interview, "[The support of the whole national team during competition] gave us confidence, strength, and helped us perform at our peak ... they all had our back and supported us which helped us; it felt amazing, the best day of our lives." It was the trio's first World Poomsae Championships.

 

Also earning a bronze medal was Nathaniel "Nate" Cromwell, who earned a bronze medal in the Freestyle Under 17 Individual Male division at his first championships as well. He advanced from a very competitive semifinal around make the top 8, where him improved his performance significantly to secure the win. Said Nate, "It's been really fun and tiring to be on National Poomsae Team, but good. It feels more like a family than a team."

 

In the Under 40 Individual Female Division, Rosalynn Le earned a bronze medal for Team USA. It was Le's fourth time on team and her third time representing the Under 40 Individual division, and her first individual medal. She competed through four rounds of head-to-head, individual competition advancing over Argentina in the quarterfinals to earn the medal before falling to Iran in the semifinals. Said Le, "The competition was intense. I felt amazing and happy [even] when I lost because I felt so honored and proud to share the mat with these champion athletes."

 

Le also teamed up Elva Adams and Jennifer Howard to earn a bronze medal in Team Over 30 Female division. The team finished the semifinal cut-off round in 4th place and subsequently advanced one round to earn the bronze medal before going out to the eventual gold medalists from Iran in a close match up. Said Adams, who was returning to her birth country which she represented in the 1988 Olympics, "I will continue to compete in poomsae because it's important to have something to for yourself and to push yourself to improve year after year. Poomsae is a continuing challenge and an important part of my life."

 

Kristi George earned a bronze medal in the Under 60 Female Individual Division, returning to the podium for the first time since 2012, and representing on her fifth national poomsae team. Said George, "It felt great because Keumgang is a form that I have had so much trouble with in the past, and this time I was able to perform it well for the first time at the World Poomsae Championships to advance  to the final round." George lost a competitive semifinal to the eventual gold medalist from Germany.

 

Also competing were Megan Hana Lee, Aahana Mulchandani and Jae Shim in Team Cadet Female (preliminary cut-off round), Arianna Le, Angela Tortora, and Trinity Wong in Team Junior Female (semifinal cut-off round), Sebastian "Sky" Choi in Under 30 Male Individual (round of 32), Elva Adams in Under 50 Female Individual (Final 1/Quarterfinal Round), and Pok Sun Yang in Under 50 Male Individual (Final 1/Quarterfinal Round). All represented USA well and continued to lend their full support to the entire team when done competing.

 

Good luck to Team USA tomorrow on Day 3. It will be a another busy day for the team, with an additional 11 divisions being contested.