Rocky Hill Taekwondo Students Medal at National Tournament

students showed off their technique, ability to break boards and sparring skills at a national tournament in Texas earlier this month. 

The following students from the Rocky Hill martial arts dojo received medals at the from June 29 to July 2:

• Nicholas Vestergaard, 10, of Durham won Bronze medal in breaking for light weight class.
• Nicole Felice, 15, of Rocky Hill won gold medals in breaking and form events while receiving a silver in sparring in the junior division age group (14-17).
• Elena McKinney, 7, of Rocky Hill won Bronze medal in sparring in the weight class not exceeding 119.0 lbs.

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There were 17 students, who are between the ages of seven to 15, from Olympic Taekwondo Academy locations in and that competed at the national championships. The students competed in three events, which were sparring, forms and breaking events, according to a release from the academy.

Felice and McKinney were part of the Team Light of the World, which has been practicing since last September to prepare for the national championships. The team was trained by Masters Kiye Cho, Taewoo Lee, Jonguk Jang, Kwangsoon Park, and Sunmi Jung.

For more than half of the team, it was their first time competing on a national stage, the release said.

To qualify, athletes must have competed in a 2012 USAT state championship, regional qualifier or received a waiver, according to the release.

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