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11 Year Old Bakersfield Girl Now Ranks No. 2 In The World In Taekwondo
Topics: Taekwondo, Martial art, kick, Olivia, Bryant, Bakersfield, Olympic, Spar, Fight
Anonymous user Mon Mar 3, 2008 09:41:02 PST
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Bakersfield, CA (February 14, 2008) – Olivia Bryant of Bakersfield, California won the silver medal at the US Open Taekwondo Championships held February 8-10 in New Orleans, LA. This gives the 11 year old Van Horn Elementary 5^th grader and straight “A” student the #2 ranking in the world in the 11-13 year old Bantam weight division according to United States of America Taekwondo (USAT- www.usa-taekwondo.us ), the national governing body for Olympic taekwondo.

 

Olivia Bryant in her first year of eligibility for this event left a lasting impression on many in attendance by dominating all of her opponents before loosing in the finals to Canada. But for those who know her dedication and determination to the art and sport of taekwondo, it's hardly a surprise. Because there are no schools in the area that offer the specialized program she needs, she travels 11/2 hrs each way 4 days per week to train at Victory Taekwondo Center in Palmdale, CA while still managing to squeeze in 2 hrs a day 3 days a week training at home. All while maintaining straight A's in school and a healthy dose of friends and girly parties and events.

 

She often says that one day she would like to represent her country in international events, especially the Olympic Games and at the tender age of 11, her resume puts her right on track, which include:

2006 Junior Olympics – Gold ( http://www.usa-taekwondo.us... )

2007 Junior Olympics – Silver ( http://www.usa-taekwondo.us... )

2008 – Member of the Official California State Taekwondo Sparring Team (http://www.cutkda.com , http://www.cutkda.com/event... )

2008 US Open – Silver ( http://www.usa-taekwondo.us... )

You can also see Olivia in action at the 2007 Junior Olympics Here - http://www.youtube.com/watc...

 

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Comment From: sunnica

Congratulations, Olivia! You make the Southwest PROUD! Love the video, too.