Baguio’s top young taekwondo djinn Justine Kobe Macario helped the poomsae mixed squad of the Philippine National Taekwondo Team to the top podium in the 2023 Chuncheon Korea Open International in South Korea last August 8 to 14.
The Baguio City National High School alumnus now with University of Santo Tomas joined Stella Nicole Yape, Juvenile Faye Crisostomo, Zyka Angelica Santiago and Patrick King Perez as the freestyle mixed team for 17 years and older squad took the gold medal.
The national squad went on to earn four gold medals on top of five silver and three medals in the week long competition in the capital city of Gangwon, 101 kilometers northeast of Seoul.
Gold medal winners for the national squad are Ian Matthew Corton in Individual Male (G2 Event Under 30), the Freestyle Pair (over 17) of Darius Venerable and Yape and Kirstie Elaine Alora in women’s kyurogi (+73 kilogram).
The silver medalists are: Antonette Medallada (Junior Individual Female International) and kyurogi djinns Baby Jessica Canabal (Women’s -53kg), Kurt Mykel Curata (Men’s Junior Division -51kg), Rodito Sinugbojan, Jr. (Men’s Junior Division -48kg) and Tachiana Mangin (Women’s Junior Division -49kg).
Venerable won a bronze medals in Freestyle Individual Male (G2 Event Over 17) as well as Individual Male Senior IV U60 and Caitlin Julia Carlos (Women’s Junior Division -44kg).
Macario, who was named after the Black Mamba of the NBA Kobe Bryant, went to BCNHS where he was cited by local sports journalists as an outstanding athlete from the school in 2011.
He was also part of the Philippine taekwondo poomsae squad that won a bronze in the last Southeast Asian Games and a silver in the World Taekwondo event in Lebanon in 2021. Pigeon Lobien
