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PROFILE
As part of its programme of supporting sport and helping young athletes to fulf il
their potential , sports insurer Sportscover has sponsored 16 year old Taekwondo
world championships medal hopeful Deanna Kyriazopoulos. Over the coming year
we will follow Deanna’s progress and chart her performance at the upcoming world
championships in Russia in May. Here we introduce Deanna and provide you with
an insight to her training regime and aspirations.
DEANNA
KYRIAZOPOULOS
D
eanna Kyriazopoulos is a 16 year old girl with
drive and ambition. Living in Belmore in Sydney,
she has been studying the art of taekwondo since
the age of 5 and competing in local, State and national
tournaments since the age of 12. Her aim is to become
a world taekwondo champion and she is already well on
her way.
Since changing clubs eighteen months ago to train under
Olympic taekwondo coach Ali Khalil at the Global Martial
Arts centre in Hoxton, she has seen a huge improvement
in her fitness level, technique, sparring skills and mental
strength. At the centre she gets to train with experienced
athletes including current taekwondo Olympians.
In January she was selected to attend a four day junior
development emerging athletes training camp at the
Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) where the athletes
are subjected to a range of technical and physiological
tests including, anthropometrical, lower limb power,
flexibility, taekwondo specific endurance and decision
making assessments. Then in February at the Senior
World Championship Selections, Deanna won both her
fights and won the gold medal in the -46kg division which
earned Deanna a spot on the Australian Senior National
Team to compete in the 2015 World Senior Championships
in May in Chelyabinsk, Russia.
Before the World Championships, Deanna will be gaining
further experience at senior level by competing in the
Swiss Open and the Dutch Open. As an emerging athlete
it is vital for her to attend international events in order
to gain points, gain rankings and eventually be able
to compete in the Olympics. This requires dedication,
commitment and determination not only from her but
also from her parents.
It is hard for her to juggle her training with her year
11 school work, including having to catch up when she
misses out on school work and exams because of her
travel to compete in championship events. It is a battle
but she takes her school work seriously and wants to do
well and attend university.
Deanna’s current training regime provides for her
to have only one rest day on Wednesday each week.
Monday, Tuesday, Friday and Sunday are strength and
conditioning days, whilst Taekwondo specific training
takes up the rest of the week.
Her target for the 2015 World Championships is to have a
good performance with the hope of getting into a medal
position. But Deanna is young and has time on her side
to reach her ultimate goal. We will keep you updated as
to her progress.
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TOUCHLINE
ISSUE 20 | MARCH 2015