When you’re in the heart of Mexico, anything is possible. Or at least that’s what Junior Josephine Wong was thinking on her trip to the Mexican city of Aguascalientes.
Traveling to represent USA in the Ninth World Taekwondo Poomsae Championships from Oct. 30 to Nov. 2, Wong ended up placing third in Junior Female Team and fifth in the Junior Pair divisions. A total of 461 athletes from 46 countries competed for places in 36 categories. Wong surpassed the record in the history of Team USA in the Junior Pair division by getting to finals. Her team was also the first U.S. team to place in world competition and it continued its record-breaking lunge by finishing the championships with 20 medals.
“I did a lot better than I expected and I’m really glad with these results,” Wong said. “Because this was my first Worlds competition, I went in feeling like I had nothing to lose and that I could just do my best.”
Although Wong placed first at the Nationals competition in July, going to Mexico to compete at the Worlds competition didn’t really hit her until August.
“I was excited to see how people from other countries would do in competition,” Wong said. “But I was also scared because I knew that the other people would be really good.”
Wong was proud to represent USA, and she also enjoyed meeting people from across the nation and from other countries. She had teammates from the east coast and made friends with the Chinese Taipei team because she knew how to speak Chinese. However, she had problems trying to communicate with teams from European countries because of the language barrier.
“It was a fun experience and I got to meet a lot of people,” Wong said. “It was also funny to train at the venue. Other countries would also be there and they would get psyched out because we had so many people. Some countries only had one person and Indonesia only had about six people. We were the third largest team.”
Although Wong is extremely pleased by the results, she did experience some difficulties with her voice during the competition. Wong’s routine required her to yell, which acted as a sign of power.
“I yelled too loudly on the second day so I lost my voice, and on the third day, I had to force it even more,” Wong said. “My master told me I sounded like a deer getting hit by a car.”
Wong and her teammates spent nine days in Mexico, but they only competed for four. However, they spent the extra time training and didn’t get to go out and experience Mexican culture. She spent most of her time either at the Marriott hotel or at the venue.
“Our curfew is at nine, but we snuck out on the last night and saw a whole bunch of nightlife places,” Wong said. “Most places that were open were bars but we managed to find a taco place that was open late.”
Although Wong began taking taekwondo lessons at age five, she has only been competing for three years. She started taekwondo through the influence of her cousins but is now the last in competition.
Wong is now hoping to have the opportunity to compete in the Collegiates championship, which is the Worlds tournament for college students.
“The 2017 Collegiates game is going to be held in Taiwan,” Wong said. “So I also want an excuse to go back and visit. Also, the members of the Chinese Taipei team that I made friends with also offered to take us around if we ever went to Taiwan.”
Although, Wong is currently resting, she is already thinking about training for next year’s states competition. If she places in the top four in states, she will train for nationals. If she places first at nationals, then she will be able to compete in the 2015 Worlds competition in Vietnam.