Congratulations to Year 2 Sport and Physical Activity student, Cody, who recently became a double European champion at the European Taekwondo Championships.
Cody started taekwondo at age seven with Phoenix Martial Arts, and is still with the same club today. At age 15, Cody won his first ever gold medal in the Taekwondo World Championships in Scotland.
The European Taekwondo Championships were held in Lisburn, Northern Ireland and this was Cody’s first senior competition. After tearing his ACL in 2022, Cody was unsure of whether he would be able to compete again, so being chosen to represent England in this competition meant a lot to him and made him push himself to do as well as he possibly could.
The competition was held over a weekend, and Team England flew to Belfast on the Friday morning. After looking around the city centre, they headed to the venue to weigh in and register before their team meal in the evening.
Cody’s black belt events were held on the Saturday and he took part in four events, winning a Bronze medal in Men’s Patterns, Silver in Veterans Team Sparring, Gold in Men’s Individual Sparring in which he won three fights, and Gold in Men’s Team Sparring, another best of three against another team.
“I had gone into the competition prepared to just be happy with the chance to perform and do my best, but the support of the team and constant encouragement of my coaches made me want to do more than just alright.” said Cody, “I didn’t think I would come away with a single medal, so to come away with four, two of them being Gold, made me extremely proud and I want to thank everyone who helped me get there.”
On the Sunday, Cody had a chance to relax and support his teammates in the coloured belt events. “I actually lost my voice from cheering on my teammates!” said Cody, “The whole weekend was incredible, the support from my teammates and our travelling families was great. It is a lot easier to push yourself when there are people cheering for you and the atmosphere from the competing countries was just great.”
Sport Lecturer, Paul Hewitt, said “Cody was an outstanding student who showed the highest levels of commitment to his studies, an independent work ethic and a strong desire to succeed. Throughout his time at College he balanced his time well, representing the College rugby team and gaining invaluable work experience as a taekwondo instructor. As a testament to his commitment, Cody is leaving us this year with a D*D*D* in Sport and Physical Activity. Well done Cody!”
In September, Cody is heading to Cardiff Metropolitan University to study Sports Conditioning Rehabilitation and Massage. He also hopes to continue progressing with taekwondo, and improve his technical skills and physical condition. He is working towards Nationals in September and selections for the next international competition.
Speaking on his time at College, Cody said “I learnt a lot of valuable skills and lessons at College, the staff were supportive and encouraged me to do my best in all aspects of life. I didn’t feel like a student, I was treated like an adult and this made a comfortable environment for me to grow and develop. I believe studying Sport and Physical Activity set me up very well with the best knowledge to succeed at University, and also helped me to manage my own training and fitness to support my taekwondo career too.”
We wish Cody the best of luck with his next steps.
For more information about this story please contact chloe.suter@cirencester.ac.uk
