A Lethbridge taekwondo star is making waves internationally; she was recently the most decorated Canadian athlete to come out of the ITF World Championships in Germany.
Eighteen-year-old Grace Holowiski collected three medals en route to Canada’s 15th overall finish on the world’s biggest stage, improving on the two-medal performance she had in Ireland in 2017.
“I got a silver medal in Team Specialty Breaking, a bronze medal in Individual Power Breaking and a bronze medal in Team Power Breaking,” Holowiski said.
In those three competitions Holowiski has amassed seven medals, and her coach of nine years says that it isn’t necessarily a surprise.
And the level is about to get a little higher.
READ MORE: Taekwondo club in Nova Scotia launches class for people with special needs
With her most recent birthday, Holowiski moves up into an adult division, where the competition gets even more difficult.
“It will be a new stage,” Merritt said. “We will have to change things a bit, but overall, she’s just been continuously growing as an athlete.
“Going forward, we’re going to be increasing her plyometrics to a new level. This worlds, I saw heights that I haven’t seen any athletes reach before, so it’s a big game change.”
Holowiski is elite in both power breaking and specialty breaking.
“Specialty breaking is kicks high up in the air – like jumping and hitting a board at a certain height,” Holowiski said. “Power breaking is techniques to break lots of boards.
Next up is the Western Championships in Saskatoon, beginning May 17.