Grade 12 Baguio athlete won gold, silver in international Taekwondo championship

Baguio City, Philippines – Inspired by his parents’ endless and unconditional support, a young Taekwondo player in Baguio City brought home gold and silver medals from the recently concluded Taekwondo Championship in Thailand.

John Bert Valenzuela, a grade 12 student at the University of the Cordilleras, competed in the Kyorugi 58kg-62kg and Poomsae individual events during the Chiang Mai International Taekwondo Championship 2024 in the last week of January.

Valenzuela won gold in the Kyorugi category and silver in Poomsae.

Speaking with PTV Cordillera about his win, the young athlete revealed that this is his first gold from an international competition.

“I cannot express what I am feeling right now because it is my first gold medal from an international competition, and I am very thankful to my coaches for giving us the support we needed, and also to my parents and the City Taekwondo Team,” he conveyed.

Valenzuela added that he was inspired by his parents, who were always supportive and never pressured him. He recounted his folks telling him they were okay with a bronze medal, instilling in him that if he was not going to get the gold ‘today,’ he would get it another time.

The gold medalist began playing Taekwondo in 2017 and won his first gold from a competition in Tuguegarao City in the same year.