MANCHESTER, UK (Oct 23, 2022) – The
final day of competition at the Manchester 2022 World Taekwondo Grand Prix saw
more new faces joining the ranks of elite taekwondo athletes, as the sport
continues its exciting journey to this year’s Grand Prix Finals and then on
towards the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

In
the men’s -80kg, the two Korean wildcard entrants – respectively winner and
runner-up of the WT Grand Prix Challenge at the Muju Taekwondowon –
further demonstrated the value of that event in accelerating the progress of
new talent. Hwan Namgoong finished the WT Grand Prix Challenge in second
place and earned a bronze medal in this, his debut appearance on the world
stage.

Namgoong
lost his semi-final to Italy’s Simone Alessio. The Italian, winner of the
previous WT Grand Prix stops this year in Paris and Rome, then took on WT
Grand Prix Challenge winner Geon-woo Seo in the final. It would be a
victorious international debut for the Korean, as he defeated Alessio in two
rounds.

On
his way to the final, Seo had also beaten Firas Katousi of Tunisia. With a
semi-final finish, Katousi secured a second WT Grand Prix bronze medal to go
alongside the one he had won earlier this year in Paris.

In
winning here in Manchester, Seo joined Tae-Joon Park as the second rising star
to have achieved a winning breakthrough following success at the WT Grand
Prix Challenge in June, at the Mujo Taekwondowon. The WT Grand Prix
Challenge is set to continue in 2023 and further upsets may well lie in
store, as athletes make every effort to represent their countries at Paris
2024.

The women’s
+67kg competition would be a story of redemption for Germany Lorena’s Brandl.
In the quarter final, Brandl had defeated home favourite, Great Britain’s
Bianca Cook. In doing so, the German reversed the result of their previous
encounter this year in Manchester, where the British athlete had won their
final of the European Taekwondo Championships.

On
her way to the final, Brandl also defeated Poland’s two-time former WT Grand
Prix winner Aleksandra Kowalczuk, in the semi-final. Brandl’s winning streak
then continued in the final, as she took on France’s Althea Laurin and beat her
in three rounds.

It
would be Laurin’s second WT Grand Prix silver of 2022, following success in
Paris. In losing to Laurin in their respective semi-final, Lei Xu of China won
WT Grand Prix bronze in her own debut appearance.

The
last event of the WT Grand Prix was the men’s + 80kg, with the home crowd
heavily behind Great Britain’s Caden Cunningham. Cunningham earned his place in
the final with a closely fought victory against 2016 Olympic champion Cheick Sallah
Cisse of Cote d’Ivoire.

The
final saw Cunningham take on Brazil’s Maicon Siqueira. Cunningham won the first
round and Siqueira won the second. The contest would only be resolved in the last
seconds, as Siqueira landed a body kick to win WT Grand Prix gold. On his own
path to the final, Siqueira had overcome Emre Kutalmis Atesli of Turkey, winner
of the opening 2022 WT Grand Prix in Rome.

With
the conclusion of the Manchester 2022 World Taekwondo Grand Prix, the scene is
now set for the WT Grand Prix Final, which is expected to take place in early
December in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.