Woolridge medals at Worlds
Photos
Jermal Woolridge won Bermuda’s first ever medal at the World Wushu Championships by earning a bronze in men’s 198-plus pound division held in Ankara, Turkey.
On his way to claiming a podium finish Woolridge beat opponents from Jordan and Germany before going down in his semi final match to a Chinese competitor.
The fighter prepared for the competition at Extreme Couture MMA Gym in Ontario, Canada for three weeks prior to the competition.
“This is a real milestone for the sport of wushu and in particular san shou on the Island,” said president of the Bermuda Sanshou Association, Garon Wilkinson.
“The Bermuda Sanshou Association was founded in 2005 by myself and Reuben Bean as a result of the International Olympic Committee announcing that wushu would be a part of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.
“Unfortunately we did not qualify for the Games, but the association has continued to grow and improve over the years.
“I think that says a lot about how well we’ve done. We’ve gone from being the laughing stock at the Worlds in Beijing four years’ ago to being real contenders.
“Not only did we win our first match, we went on to medal at a world championship. “
Other members of the Bermuda wushu team also produced some solid performances.
Wilkinson placed 80th out of 103 competitors in Chang Quan long fist forms.
Sentwali Woolridge faced an Armenian and went down 2-0 in the male 154-plus pound division, while female fighter Talia Iris fought Natacha Bounet from France and lost 2-0.
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Published Oct 17, 2011 at 8:36 am (Updated Oct 17, 2011 at 8:34 am)