5th January 2022

GB Taekwondo and premium UK based sportswear brand, Castore, are delighted to announce a four-year deal to take the successful Olympic and Paralympic sport to Paris 2024 and beyond.

Confirmation of the exciting athlete-led decision comes at the end of a year that yielded five medals from the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

And to round off another memorable 12 months for the Manchester-based programme, Amy Truesdale and Joe Lane recently captured silver medals at the Para World Championships in Turkey.

“Partnering with a brand that is so committed to making technically excellent garments was non-negotiable,” said GB Taekwondo chief executive officer, Matt Archibald.

“Couple that with the energy, passion, and ambition we have seen from the Manchester-based founders and their leadership team, and we see a great fit with the organisations.

‘I was really impressed when I met Castore co-founder, Tom Beahon, at their Manchester headquarters.

“He showed great interest in Olympic and Paralympic sport and is committed to supporting our athletes with their Paris 2024 campaigns.

“We see many parallels between Castore’s DNA and bold approach with the GB Taekwondo journey from start-up and obscurity to a world-leading taekwondo nation in a few exhilarating years.

“However, it was athlete engagement that sealed the decision. Our fighters were excited with the quality of the range and designs when we met the Castore team to sample the products.”

The partnership follows multiple recent high-profile agreements that Castore has secured across sports including Wolverhampton Wanderers and Newcastle United, McLaren F1, England Cricket, Cricket South Africa and Samoa Rugby Union.

After enjoying a well-earned Christmas break, there is plenty on the horizon in 2022 for athletes to look forward to.

“Manchester activity will be significant over the next 24 months,” added Archibald.

“The city will be hosting three major international events, a new quarterly ‘Fight Night’ series plus the further development of the National Taekwondo Centre in East Manchester.”

Tom Beahon, Co-Founder of Castore, said “Castore is delighted to welcome GB Taekwondo as our most recent high-performance partner and Olympic/Paralympic sport to truly strengthen our presence on the global stage of competition.”

“We were impressed by the passion, drive and commitment of GB Taekwondo and their athletes when sampling the garments which aligns perfectly with our Better Never Stops ethos. It is no surprise that GB Taekwondo continue to achieve success at major competitions by striving for marginal gains and improvements.”

“The next cycle of activity for GB Taekwondo is one which excites us, and we look forward to both organisations continuing to deliver high performance and technical excellence over the coming years.”