GB Taekwondo launch One Year Countdown to London 2012 at Seoul Olympic Park

To mark one year to go until the greatest show on earth – the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics – the British Embassy, Korea Sports Promotion Foundation and GB Taekwondo held an event in the Olympic Park in Seoul to countdown to the London Games.   British Chargé d’Affaires, Andrew Dalgleish, unveiled a One Year To Go Omega countdown clock in the Seoul Olympic Museum. 

World-class British and Korean taekwondo athletes who hope to compete in London 2012 were present to mark the launch.  Taekwondo is an increasingly popular professional sport in the UK with Team GB winning a number of medals in world championships.   At the event, guests were able to speak to members of the GB Taekwondo squad and watch a demonstration from the youth team of the Korea Taekwondo Association.

Speaking at the event, Andrew Dalgleish, Minister-Counsellor and Charg é d’Affaires to Republic of Korea said:
“The London Games will be a show to remember and I’m delighted to celebrate One Year To Go here in Korea.  It is made even more special by Pyeongchang winning the 2018 Winter Olympics.  Since I arrived here in Korea I’ve been struck by our shared love of sport, be it football, athletics or ice skating.  And today we saw that this extends to taekwondo.  I really enjoyed the display by the children from the Korea Taekwondo Association – truly stars of the future!  I am sure that as clock ticks down to London in 2012 and Korea begins its preparations for Pyeongchang, we will have many opportunities to work together to deliver Games that inspire the world.”

Gary Hall, the performance director of GB Taekwondo team said:
“The Great British team have made real progress during this current Olympic cycle, in the lead up to London 2012. We have been consistently medalling at international competitions around the world, notably at the European Championships in 2010 and this year, in Gyeongju, at the World Championships.

“Our training camps and competitions in Korea are a key part of our preparations and will help in the short-term as we prepare for the British Open in October. Over recent years we have created a strong partnership between GB Taekwondo, the Manchester Metropolitan University in the UK and one of the best Taekwondo establishments in the world, the Korea National Sports University. This partnership enables exceptional exchange visits and we hope to return to Seoul again before the Games and to welcome the Korean team to Manchester to support their own Olympic preparations.”