Skylar Park of Winnipeg, Manitoba won the gold medal on Tuesday at the World Taekwondo Grand Prix in Taiyuan, China. For Park, it was her first Grand Prix gold medal of her career, and seventh Grand Prix medal of her career. She previously won a silver medal in Paris in 2022, and bronze medals in Rome and Manchester in 2018, Rome again in 2019 and 2022, and Riyadh in 2022 in the Grand Prix Final. Park also won the bronze medal for Canada at the 2019 World Taekwondo Championships in Manchester. Her Grand Prix medals and World Championship medal came in the women’s 57 kilogram division.
In Taiyuan on Tuesday, Park beat Stacey Hyman of Australia 2-0 in the round of 16, Luana Marton of Hungary 2-0 in the quarterfinals, Ahreum Lee of South Korea 2-1 in the semifinals, and Nahid Kiyanichandeh of Iran 2-1 in the finals. Marton and Kiyanichandeh are both gold medalists from the 2023 World Taekwondo Championships. Kiyanichandeh placed first in the women’s 53 kilogram division, and Marton placed first in the women’s 57 kilogram division.
It should be noted that the women’s 53 kilogram division is not on the Olympic program, but the women’s 57 kilogram division is on the Olympic stage. The gold medal for Park will give her confidence as she prepares for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
