Karine Sergerie
Encyclopedia
Karine Sergerie is the 2007 world champion in women's 67 kg Taekwondo
Taekwondo
Taekwondo is a Korean martial art and the national sport of South Korea. In Korean, tae means "to strike or break with foot"; kwon means "to strike or break with fist"; and do means "way", "method", or "path"...

. She is Canada's first female world champion in the sport.

Biography

Sergerie was born in Sainte-Catherine, Quebec
Sainte-Catherine, Quebec
Sainte-Catherine is an off-island suburb of Montreal, in southwestern Quebec, Canada on the St. Lawrence River in the Regional County Municipality of Roussillon...

, Canada. Her father and coach, Rejean, introduced her to karate
Karate
is a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Islands in what is now Okinawa, Japan. It was developed from indigenous fighting methods called and Chinese kenpō. Karate is a striking art using punching, kicking, knee and elbow strikes, and open-handed techniques such as knife-hands. Grappling, locks,...

 at age five. She competed in karate from 1992–1998. He continued to coach her when she took an interest in taekwondo after her older brother took up the sport. She is the six-time consecutive national champion (2002–2007).

Career

Sergerie won a silver medal at the 2003 World Taekwondo Championships. Despite this accomplishment, she did not qualify for the 2004 Summer Olympics
2004 Summer Olympics
The 2004 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad, was a premier international multi-sport event held in Athens, Greece from August 13 to August 29, 2004 with the motto Welcome Home. 10,625 athletes competed, some 600 more than expected, accompanied by 5,501 team...

 because of a "contradiction in the selection process". One set of requirements said she needed to win a gold at the Pan-American Games to qualify, while another one did not. Although she did win a bronze medal at the 2003 Pan-Am Games, the Taekwondo Federation of Canada ruled it was not enough.

Sergerie is part of the three member Canadian Olympic team
Canada at the 2008 Summer Olympics
Canada, which is represented by the Canadian Olympic Committee , competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, People's Republic of China, from August 8 to 24, 2008. Canadian athletes have competed in every Summer Olympic Games since 1900, except the 1980 Summer Olympics which they boycotted...

 at the Summer Olympic Games in Taekwondo
Taekwondo at the Summer Olympics
Taekwondo made its first appearance at the Summer Olympic Games as a demonstration sport at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. The opening ceremony featured a mass demonstration of taekwondo with hundreds of adults and children performing moves in unison. Taekwondo was again a...

 along with Ivett Gonda
Ivett Gonda
-Awards:*Named Most Valuable Player at the 2002 Junior National Championships and the 2006 Senior National Championships-References:*http://www.combatcanada.ca/forum/index.php?topic=27.0*http://www.olympic.ca/EN/hopefuls/2007/taekwondo.html...

 and Sébastien Michaud.

Karine advanced to the final where she competed against Hwang Kyung-Seon for the gold medal.
This is Canada's best Olympic placing in the sport.

Career Highlights

Awards

  • 2009 Inducted Into the Official Taekwondo Hall of Fame
  • Recipient of the 2005 National Championships Most Valuable Player Award.
  • The 2005 Taekwondo Spirit award at the National Championships.
  • 2006 Most Valuable Player at the Pan Am Championships.
  • 2008 Athlete of the Year by Gala Sports-Québec.

External links

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