YORKTON — Justus Jaquet went to Calgary for the Canada Open taekwondo competition and came home with a gold medal.
A member of Kees Taekwondo in Yorkton, Jaquet competed in the 78-kilogram division at the G2 International competition. G2 is a higher level of event, he said, and everyone entered had to have at least a first-degree black belt. The other events in his division were also from Canada.
Jaquet said he had two fights at the event and he won both of them, point-gapping his opponents in both.
“Point gapping is where you have 12 more points than them, and then the round ends,” he said.
The other fighters were close to his skill level, but Jaquet said he had a better idea of how to score points. Two of the competitors were taller than him.
Jaquet has been in taekwondo for eight years and has always been at Kees. He said he entered the sport so he could improve his concentration.
“This really helped me with focusing and getting myself to calm down and making myself focus on something,” he said.
Since he entered the sport, he has really enjoyed it, and it’s really hard to stop.
“I enjoy it so much. I train a lot at home and at the dojo,” he said.
Jaquet trains four or five times a week, along with a Saturday session, and each session is two or three hours.
This isn’t the first time he has won a championship. In 2024, he won gold at nationals and this year he won silver. He also looks forward to the local competition in Yorkton and facing some familiar opponents.
Taekwondo requires a lot of discipline and respect. He appreciates how much time the club dedicates to helping him and other athletes improve. The people involved with the sport are really good as well, he said.
“I really appreciate having my coach, master Matthew and Autumn [Bodnaryk],” he said.
His employer, Heli-Lift Int’l Helicopter Services in Yorkton, makes his tournaments easy to attend because they are very accommodating of his schedule.
A Facebook post for Kees Taekwondo said it is a major accomplishment just to win a round at the Canada Open.
“Coach master Matthew Bodnaryk and master Autumn have been working hard with Justus, often with multiple training sessions per day. The dedication is starting to show the dividends,” the Facebook post said. “All of the training partners that have worked with the training team need to relish this success. All of your times will come to fruition from your major sacrifices of many hours of preparation.”
Jaquet expects he’ll remain with the sport for a long time to come.
