Joe Coughlin is a long time resident of Peyton. At the recent (Nov. 30 to Dec. 4) Taekwondo World Poomsae Championships in Hong Kong, China, Coughlin said he was honored to represent the USA as a member of the U.S. National Taekwondo team. The two main aspects of competition Taekwondo sparring, which is currently in the Olympics, and poomsae.
Taekwondo sparring, also known as kyorugi in Korean, is a controlled, free-form fight between two or more practitioners. Poomsae are a series of pre-arranged patterns of defense and attack moves in Taekwondo. Poomsae are also a competitive aspect of Taekwondo.
As a member of the 60-plus age group Men’s Team Poomsae competition, Coughlin won a gold medal, becoming a world champion and helping the USA to second place in the world in medal count. Dodie Thompson of Colorado Springs was also a member of the team; and she won two gold medals in Pairs and Teams. She is the first American to win two gold medals at a World Championship.
Congratulations, Joe!

For more information, visit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2024_World_Poomsae_Championships.
