Great Britain brought its 2026 World Taekwondo Poomsae Championships campaign to a close in Chuncheon on Sunday, with six British entries taking to the mats across individual, pair and team competition.
While the final day did not produce another medal for the British team, there were a number of strong performances throughout the day, including a particularly impressive run from the U30 Pair of Olivia McGeoch and Nino Ontoy, who progressed through two rounds before narrowly missing out against Türkiye.
The U30 Pair were the first British athletes to compete on Court 2, beginning their campaign with a Round of 64 meeting against Reunion.
Great Britain took the opening Shipjin performance 8.640 to 8.400 before extending their advantage in Taebaek, winning 8.640 to 8.480 to progress.
Brazil awaited in the next round, and Olivia and Nino continued their excellent form. Their Shipjin performance earned a score of 8.940 compared with Brazil’s 8.760, giving the British pair the advantage heading into the second performance. Another strong display in Keumgang saw them win 8.880 to 8.520 and progress into the Round of 16.
There, they faced Türkiye in a closely fought contest. Great Britain edged the opening Jitae performance 8.740 to 8.720, leaving everything to play for in Pyongwon.
Unfortunately, Türkiye responded with an 8.760 to 8.600 victory in the second performance, edging Olivia and Nino out in agonising circumstances.
Their run nevertheless represented an impressive performance on the world stage, with the pair progressing through two rounds before narrowly missing out on a place in the quarter-finals.
James Barrett of NTC opened his U40 Individual Male campaign against Nepal’s Prem Bahadur Limbu in the Round of 32, producing a winning performance to progress into the next stage of the competition.
His next challenge came against Australia’s Minseung Choi, where the Australian took the opening Taegeuk 7 Jang performance 9.700 to 8.960. James responded strongly in Taebaek, but Choi again came out on top, winning 8.900 to 8.560 to bring James’ competition to an end.
Pina Petrillo of Choson Taekwondo faced Austria’s Sabine Muller in the opening round of the U65 Individual Female category.
Muller established an early advantage in Chonkwon, scoring 8.420 to Pina’s 8.060, before taking the second performance in Taebaek 8.340 to 7.880. The result brought Pina’s World Championships campaign to an end in the Round of 16.
The U17 Female Team of Evie Co of Stevenage Taekwondo, Erin Bannon of Ascend Taekwondo and Sun-Yi Kelly of Nomad faced a difficult opening draw against home favourites Korea.
Korea took the advantage in Taegeuk 8 Jang, scoring 9.220 to Great Britain’s 8.880, before producing another high-level performance in Taegeuk 7 Jang to win 9.280 to 8.920.
The result brought the British trio’s competition to an end, but the team can be proud of their performance against one of the strongest combinations in the Championships.
There was success in the opening round for the U17 Male Team of Louis Exton of PremierKi, Gabriel Casaclang of Win Taekwondo and Peter Sellwood of Ascend Taekwondo.
Facing India, Great Britain took Taegeuk 7 Jang 8.600 to 8.260 before continuing their strong start in Taegeuk 6 Jang, winning 8.600 to 8.280 to progress into the Round of 16.
Canada awaited in the next round, where Great Britain narrowly missed out despite another strong showing. Canada won Pyongwon 8.660 to 8.460 before taking Taegeuk 8 Jang 8.760 to 8.600.
The O60 Male Team of Ali Pourtaheri, Mike Pejic and Wayne Nicklin entered the competition at the quarter-final stage, with Ali hoping to add a second medal to the World Championships gold he secured in the O60 Individual Male competition earlier in the Championships.
Their quarter-final opponents were Mexico, and Great Britain made a strong start by edging Jitae 8.560 to 8.500.
However, Mexico responded in Keumgang, winning 8.420 to Great Britain’s 8.320. The narrow result saw the Mexican team turn the contest around and bring Great Britain’s final-day medal hopes to an end.
Although Day Five ended without another medal for Great Britain, the conclusion of the Championships provides an opportunity to reflect on an outstanding week for the British team.
Across five days of competition in Chuncheon, the 34-strong Great Britain team delivered performances across individual, pair and team categories, competing alongside the world’s best Poomsae athletes.
Ali Pourtaheri’s historic World Championship gold, Simon Negus’ silver and the O60 Female Team’s bronze provided three memorable medal moments, while athletes throughout the team produced performances that demonstrated the depth, commitment and quality within British Taekwondo.
The entire team has been a credit to themselves, their families, coaches, clubs and country, and British Taekwondo is incredibly proud of everything they have achieved throughout the Championships.
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