The Championships were held in Aguascalientes, Mexico, home of the able-bodied Pan American Championships, and saw victory for Colombia's Fabian Chaparro in the men's under 61 kilogram category, Costa Rica's Andres Molina in the men's under 75kg category and Mexico's Francisco Pedroza in the over 75 kg division.

The Championships are running alongside that of the able-bodied equivalent which began yesterday and are due conclude on Monday (September 14).

They are the third edition of the Games, and second to be held in Mexico following the inaugural Championships in Monterrey in 2010, and the 2012 event in Sucre, Bolivia.

The WTF is already looking ahead to a fourth edition of the Championships as the sport's governing body continues to seek inclusion for the sport at Tokyo 2020. 

The Pan America Para-Taekwondo Championships is being hailed as an important step in the sport's campaign for inclusion at Tokyo 2020 following a successful World Championships in Moscow earlier this year ©WTF



"It is great to see elite Para-taekwondo Championships being held worldwide," said WTF President Chungwon Choue.

"Para-taekwondo is a global sport practised by athletes from all five International Paralympic Committee (IPC) regions and so we want to ensure that athletes from across the world have the opportunity to regularly compete in top level competitions.

"This will not just provide a platform to showcase their talents to our global fan base but will also encourage more people to take up the sport from grassroots through to elite level.

"Taekwondo is universally accessible to people of all ages, genders and races irrespective of whether they have an impairment and we know there is huge potential for further growth.

"We are 100 per cent committed to increasing the number of Para-taekwondo Championships in our sporting calendar to unlock this potential.

"By doing so, we will ultimately improve the quality of sport and strengthen our already impressive depth of field for the benefit of athletes and fans."

The WTF is continuing in its efforts to grow the number of national and continental championships available for Para-taekwondo athletes.

In line with this aim, the organisation has announced the establishment of a development fund which will allow Member National Associations (MNAs) to apply for funding in order to develop Para-taekwondo in their countries and rapidly increase worldwide participation.

The WTF believes that should Para-taekwondo be included in the Tokyo 2020 Games it would unlock Government funding across its 206 MNAs and provide a catalyst for further expansion and growth.

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


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