Date: January 20, 2008
Report on the 9th World Wushu Championships
From November 11 to 17, 2007, Beijing played host to the 9th World Wushu Championships, the biggest in the history of the International Wushu Federation. Over 1,400 persons were in attendance, hailing from eighty eight countries. Apart from officials, judges, athletes, coaches, and spectators, sixty eight countries sent a total of over seven hundred fifty athletes to compete.
At fifty one total members, the U.S. team was one of the largest and most enthusiastic delegations at the event, featuring a full complement of athletes, ten each in taolu and sanshou, in addition to officials and spectators. Headed by delegation leader Anthony Goh (Maryland), president of USAWKF and vice president of IWUF, the other officials included: General and Taolu Team Manager Malee Khow (USAWKF board, Connecticut); assistant Team Manager Mandy Yick (Montana); Taolu Team Coaches Lu Xiaolin (USAWKF board, Virginia) and Chen Dao Yun (California); Sanshou Team Leader Tat Mau Wong (USAWKF board, California); Assistant Sanshou Team Leader John Tsai (California); Sanshou Coaches Ian Lee (Texas) and Anthony Sims (Maryland); Assistant Taolu Coach Patti Li (California); and Assistant Sanshou Coach Michael Altman (Texas). The U.S. judge for taolu events was Aaron Coulson (Maryland); the U.S. sanshou judge was Anthony Roberts (Connecticut).
The U.S. athletes were:
Taolu Team
Men:
- Colvin Wang
- Collin Lee
- Adam Margalit
- Peter Dang
- Dennis Ta
Women:
- Sarah Chang
- Tenyia Lee
- Ngan-Ha Ta
- Rachel Margalit
- Tiffany Reyes
Sanshou Team
Men:
- J.R. Ridge (56 kg)
- Jeff Chow (65 kg)
- Maximillion Chen (70 kg)
- Gary Chandler (75 kg)
- Alejandro Cisne (80 kg)
- Kasey Corless (85 kg)
- Filipe De Jesus Pantoja (90 kg)
Women:
- Keri Juarez (56 kg)
- Sarah Ponce (60 kg)
- Jessica Miramontes (65 kg)
(Please see click here for a more complete list of the members of the delegation.)
We are proud to announce that the U.S. athletes made an excellent showing. Six players scored in the top eight in a total of eight of their competition events.
- Max Chen, sanshou, men's 70 kg category: 5th place
- Gary Chandler, sanshou, men's 75 kg category: 5th place
- Sarah Ponce, sanshou, women's 60 kg category: 5th place
- Sarah Chang, taolu: 5th place in women's qiangshu
- Tenyia Lee, taolu: 6th place in women's jianshu, 6th place in women's qiangshu
- Colvin Wang, taolu: 5th place in men's qiangshu, 6th place in men's jianshu
Some of these athletes may be selected to compete at next year’s 2008 World Wushu Tournament in Beijing, to coincide with the 2008 Olympic Games. We are waiting for news from the IWUF and will update this article once we are informed.
Everyone on the team was supportive of our athletes, from all the paperwork prior to the event by team manager Malee Khow and others, to the hard work by all the team managers and coaches during the tournament, to the support by family and friends before, during, and after competition. All worked together to do the best job they could, and it was this team spirit that made the event rewarding for everyone. Thanks to everyone who supported the U.S. team! Thanks also go to Tiger Claw, which provided sponsorship grants for the athletes and judges, plus team uniforms, sports bags, and the commemorative booklet, largely at their own expense.
Congratulations to everyone for a successful and rewarding event!
