Ainsley Walters, Freelance Writer
( L - R ) Dominic Young, Ashley Banton - file photos
A SPLENDID performance by Jamaica's junior taekwondo team at the weekend brought home two gold among 14 medals won at the eighth International Taekwondo Federation (ITF) Championship in Florianopolis, Santa Catrina, Brazil.
Dominic Young and Ashley Banton secured gold medals and were the top performers among the small contingent of 11 athletes, which took the championship by storm.
Young, a 15-year-old student of The Academy, added a silver medal in patterns to the gold he won in the Under-70 kilos junior heavyweight division.
Ashley Banton of Calabar won gold in yellow belt patterns.
Jason McKay, coach of the junior team, said he was proud of the group's performance.
"This is the most important aspect of what we're doing," he said. "Although we have some of the world's best adult male fighters, it is only by having successful junior programmes such as this, which will result in continuation," he pointed out.
Olint Jamaica, McKay Security Limited and the Jamaica Taekwondo Association sponsored the team.
Young defeated his teammate, Bradley Evans of Calabar, leaving his countryman with a silver medal in the final of the Under-70 kilos junior heavyweight division.
Highly fancied Oshane Murray went close to winning a third gold for Jamaica, but was disqualified for excessive contact in the Under-63 kilos middleweight final.
Kingston College's Martin Pagon, in his second international competition, won a bronze in blue belt patterns.
Gallant comeback
Justin Barrows, son of veteran fighter, Arthur Barrows, made a late rally in the 12-13 division to take a bronze medal in sparring against his Argentinian opponent.
Kingston College's Shamar Morgan, who had a disappointing showing in Under-63 kilos sparring, made a gallant comeback in patterns to win silver.
Meanwhile, girls' captain Tashauna Grannum went down in a close final in the 14-17 junior blackbelt heavyweight division, having to settle for silver against an Argentinean. Ashieka Dyer also won a silver after mowing her way through Under-55 kilos junior sparring, defeating opponents from Chile and Venezuela before losing in a close battle to Argentina in the final.
Maya McKay showed she no longer had to compete in the shadows of Dyer and Grannum. Jamaica's sole female representative in the 12-13 microweight division, McKay put on a gritty performance to secure silver medals in sparring and red belt patterns.
Jasmine Barrows, sister of Justin, the youngest of the juniors at age 10, secured silver medals in pattern and sparring.
The tournament was the biggest ever Pan American Championship, attracting more than 400 juniors from hosts Brazil, Jamaica, Argentina, Paraguay, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, the USA, Canada and Puerto Rico.
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