Buffalo Grove Teen Earns Two Gold Medals at USA Taekwondo National Championship

Taking another convincing step on his path to athletic glory, red belt Joshua Shin of Buffalo Grove proved victorious at the world’s largest taekwondo competition. The 15-year-old student of the White Tiger Martial Arts Center in Wheeling came home from the 2013 USA Taekwondo National Championship with two gold medals, one in poomsae (known as forms) and one in board breaking.

Shin has a bright future in taekwondo, according to his instructor, White Tiger Head Master Shik Lee. “Joshua responded extremely well to this latest challenge,” said Lee. “He has such an immense amount of natural raw talent and these medals prove he has what it takes to focus that talent in competition. We are all very proud of his effort.”

More than 4,000 athletes competed at this year’s national championship, held in Chicago, IL from July 3-9 and boasting Olympic-level training technology. The United States Olympic Committee recognizes USA Taekwondo as the governing body for the sport in the U.S., and victory at USAT’s national level is an important step on the road to compete for the U.S. at the XXXI Olympic Summer Games, to be held in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. For young athletes under the age of 16, who are not yet eligible to enter Olympic trials, the USAT nationals serve as the highest and most prestigious level of competition they can achieve.