Great Britain’s taekwondo athletes will be looking to boost their chances of selection for the Beijing Games with a series of strong performances at this weekend’s 29th Belgian Open Championships which takes place in the Bloso Sports Centre from the 5th-6th April.




With the Championships operating under the same scoring system as will be used at the Beijing Games Britain has chosen to send those athletes who are competing for selection at this summer’s Games to Belgium. Other members of the team will travel to Rome next week for the European Championships, where the organisers have chosen to trial a new electronic scoring system.

The team travelling to Belgium will be spearheaded by former World Champion Sarah Stevenson (Doncaster All Stars Taekwondo) who will be hoping to make it onto the plane to China this summer to compete in her third Games. With Great Britain having secured three out of a maximum four Olympic Qualification places, competition amongst the British squad is fierce, with the final team not yet selected.

Joining Stevenson in the squad for Belgium will be Liverpool teenager Bianca Walkden (Elite Taekwondo Club, Liverpool), along with Aaron Cook (Scorpion Taekwondo Club, Doncaster), Tony Grisman (Kan Han Taekwondo, Mansfield), Michael Harvey (Aces Taekwondo Club, Manchester) and Tyrone Robinson (Puma Taekwondo Club, Mansfield).

Gary Hall, Performance Director for Great Britain, said, “The Belgian Open will provide a great chance for the athletes to put their hand up and stake a claim for Beijing. We’ve enjoyed some excellent results so far this year in European competitions and all the athletes will be trying their hardest to earn selection for the summer. Although only three athletes will be able to go to Beijing it will be very much a team effort with all the athletes having played their part in raising the overall standards through their incredibly hard work in training.”

Those members of the Great Britain Taekwondo team that miss out on selection for this summer’s Games will have the chance to compete in the European Championships which take place in Rome next week, where a new electronic system of scoring will be trialled at a major championships for the first time.

While the British Team have been competing in Europe with great distinction so far this year, home fans will have a chance to see them in action later this year when Manchester stages the inaugural BTCB British Open International Taekwondo Championships from the 1st-2nd November. The event is expected to attract top teams from around the world and provide UK athletes with stiff competition. Further information about the event and application forms to complete are now available at www.btcb.org

THE GREAT BRITAIN TEAM COMPETING AT THE 29TH BELGIAN OPEN CHAMPIONSHIPS WILL BE:

Women

Sarah Stevenson -72kgs (Doncaster All Stars Taekwondo)

Bianca Walkden +68kgs (Elite Taekwondo Club, Liverpool)

Men

Aaron Cook -80kgs (Scorpion Taekwondo Club, Doncaster)

Tony Grisman -67kgs (Kan Han Taekwondo, Mansfield)

Michael Harvey -58kgs (Aces Taekwondo Club, Manchester)

Tyrone Robinson -58kgs (Puma Taekwondo Club, Mansfield)