The 2014 National Junior Wushu Championships have come to a close and the Ji Hong team has once again proven itself to be a formidable force on the national stage. This year’s championships were held in Hamilton, Ontario between February 15 and 16, 2014. The competition divided athletes into 3 age groups: Group A (16-18 years of age), Group B (13-15 years of age), and Group C (12 and under). The top 2 male and female athletes from each age group were selected to the Canadian National Jr. Team, which will represent Canada at the 5th World Junior Wushu Championships to be held on March 11-18, 2014 in Antalya, Turkey.
The Ji Hong team consisted of 2 Jennifer Gu and Jonathan Leung) and 4 athletes:
Brandon Luo (Group C), Isaiah
Wong (Group B),
Jordan Cao (Group
B), and Jennifer
Chen (Group B).
Despite being one of the smaller teams at the championships, the Ji Hong athletes performed extraordinarily, winning a total of 7 gold medals, 1 silver medal, and 1 bronze medal. Both Brandon and Isaiah displayed complete dominance in their respective categories by winning gold in each of their 3 events. Their spectacular performances earned them each a spot on the Canadian National Jr. Team, and both will compete at the World Championships in March. For both Jordan and Jennifer, this competition proved to be their national debut, having never competed in wushu at the national level before. Both performed remarkably, Jordan winning a bronze medal in Changquan (Northern Hand Form), and Jennifer winning a gold and silver medal in Taijiquan (Tai Chi Hand Form) and Taijijian (Tai Chi Sword Form) respectively. We look forward to seeing Jordan and Jennifer continue to work hard and their continued success at future competitions.
We would like to wish Brandon and Isaiah best of luck as they represent Canada and compete against the top athletes in the world at next month’s World Junior Wushu Championships in Antalya, Turkey. Jiayo!