World Championship 2026

Chuncheon / Korea

From 15 to 20 September, the World Poomsae Championships took place in the birthplace of taekwondo.

Anna and Daniel arrived a week early to adjust to the 7-hour time difference through moderate training. They were in top form as they awaited the draw.

Initially, 56 female athletes had entered by the closing date. Based on her world ranking, Anna would have started with a bye in the second round. She would then have faced a manageable opponent, before things really got going.

But fate had other ideas. At short notice, four more nations were added to the line-up, which meant the bye was off the cards. The options included Vietnam, Iran and a new athlete from China. In the end, it was Vietnam.
Anna probably put in her best performance of the World Championships, though it wasn’t enough to take her through to the next round.

The standard of competition has never been as high as at this World Championship. Top-seeded athletes were defeated in droves by the Asian contingent. Even the world number one, Eva Sandersen, who is no stranger to success, had to settle for third place in the end. This made her the only athlete in the top 10 to make it onto the podium.

Korea won the gold medal in commanding fashion, ahead of Iran and Thailand. Next came our Vietnamese athlete, followed by China.
The Europeans played a minor role across all performance categories at this World Championship. From the cadets through to the juniors and right up to the elite category, Asian dominance was overwhelming.

It was only in the hobby classes for older competitors that other nations managed to achieve success, due to a lack of interest from Asian competitors. In the top division, however, there was no doubt as to who was boss in the ring!

Drawing on these experiences, we will need to reposition ourselves for the tasks ahead in order to return to our usual level of success.