Tom Burns (second from left)
Photo: Supplied, Tom Burns
Inspired by action movies, 19 year old Burns took up taekwondo when he was a young boy with the dream of becoming a Ninja.
Receiving his taekwondo black belt at the tender age of 10, it s fair to say he has been honing his craft for some time now.
Last year the Christchurch native sealed his Olympic qualification by winning gold in the men s under 68 kg division at the Oceania Olympic Qualifying tournament in Queensland.
After finishing secondary school, he moved to South Korea to further pursue taekwondo at Nazarene University in Cheonan, which is considered one of the top taekwondo institutes in the world.
IOC Refugee Athlete Sediqi seeking Tokyo 2020 taekwondo goal Saturday, 27 February 2021
Abdullah Sediqi, holder of an International Olympic Committee Refugee Athlete Scholarship, has spoken of his ambition to reach the Tokyo 2020 taekwondo competition this year.
Now training in Belgium, the 24-year-old from Afghanistan has practised taekwondo since he was eight.
He told the
Olympic Channel how he fled to Europe four years ago from his war-torn country after gangs had made threats against him because of his sporting ability. It was a gruelling mission, there were days I walked for 12 hours straight, he said of his escape.
Now established in Wilrijk, a neighbourhood of Antwerp, Sediqi’s results are offering real hope that he can earn a place at this summer’s postponed Olympics.