Ji Hong Athletes Spectacular at the 33rd Can Am International Championships
The 33rd Can Am International Championships was held from July 6th to 8th at the University of British Columbia’s War Memorial Gym. This was a huge and historic event for the Western Canadian and Western United States regions. For the first time, the 1st Canada International Wushu Festival and the 1st Canada International Health Qigong Championship were held in conjunction with the grand tournament. More than 300 athletes competed at the championships.
The Ji Hong Wushu and Taichi College athletic team is one of the most powerful teams in all of Canada. It has been more than a decade since Ji Hong has sent an athletic team to the Can Am tournaments as the college has focussed on training and participating in major international and world competitions. At the earnest and persistent invitation of the tournament organizers and taking into consideration of the opportunity for the athletes to prepare for the Canadian Junior Wushu Team selection competition in August, Masters Hong Yuan Luo and Jennifer Gu decided to personally lead a team of some thirty elite athletes from the college to compete in Wushu, Taichi, Push-hand and Health Qigong events. After fierce competition and wowing the audience by their superb performances, Ji Hong athletes scored
spectacular results:
12 Wushu athletes competing in 25 events winning 20 gold, 7 silver medals;
10 Taichi athletes winning 15 gold 11 silver 2 bronze medals in individual events, and 1 gold 1 silver in group events; 3 gold medals in 3 Health Qigong events; and
within 8 Taichi Push-hand events, 8 gold, 7 silver and 6 bronze medals.
It is worth noting that for more than 20 years of competitions in push-hand in Canada, Ji Hong competitors have never conceded a single gold medal to opponents from other schools!
In the grand champion category, 5 Ji Hong athletes have been awarded for their outstanding performances:
Jonathan Leung – Men (over 18) Wushu
Brianna Chan – Women (over 18) Wushu
Raymond Ma – Men Taichi
Ivy Ho – Women Taichi
Richard Anderson – Taichi Push-hand
In the latest news, Ji Hong athletes are not resting on their laurels, but are busy preparing for the competitions in August for the Canadian Junior National Wushu Team selection and in October for the World Taijiquan Health Congress in Wudang Mountains in China. We wish them continue success in the coming events!