Working collectively with the Combat Institute of Australia (CombatAUS) and Australian Taekwondo, the Korean native comes to the Australian sport high-performance ranks after a successful tenure as the national coach of Korea's Taekwondo team.
CombatAUS Chief Executive Officer, Alex Vallentine, is delighted to welcome Lee to the high-performance program.
"It's a pleasure to welcome an international coach of Seokhun's calibre to CombatAUS and our National Performance Centre. We're looking forward to working with Seokhun and our Taekwondo athletes on their development and quest for enhanced success on the world stage."
Australian Taekwondo Chief Executive Officer, Heather Garriock, is equally pleased to see Lee start his tenure as Australia's national coach.
"We're very fortunate to attract someone of Seokhun's pedigree and experience to Taekwondo in Australia, and we're delighted to welcome him to the role of National Coach. Our community will have the opportunity to connect with Seokhun at the upcoming Australian Nationals Championships in Brisbane."
Lee's focus will be on developing Australia's high-performance Taekwondo athletes at CombatAUS' National Performance Centre as they prepare for their Paris 2024 Olympic campaign.
Eleven athletes are representing Australia this month as the group embarks on a six-week tour of Europe, led by Lee and Safwan Khalil, who has been acting as interim coach since late 2021.
Team Members
With the cancellation of the Dutch Open, the group headed to Sofia in Hungary to train with the national team. The team will then head to INSEP in France for four additional training days before heading to Lommel in Belgium for the Belgium Open on March 19. The team will then return home to prepare for the Australian National Championships.
Given the current covid situation, the team is being supported by two additional staff to ensure sufficient coverage and athlete support should anything happen during the tour.
The Australian National Championships will be Lee's first taste of a tournament in Australia, and he is keen to engage with the Australian Taekwondo community.
"I'm really pleased to be part of Taekwondo in Australia and lead the high-performance program. I'm looking forward to experiencing the Australian National Championships in April and meeting many new people in the Australian Taekwondo community," said Lee.
Australia's Taekwondo high-performance program, run by CombatAUS in consultation with Australian Taekwondo, aims to increase the competitiveness of Australia's elite taekwondo athletes on the world stage and achieve sustainable podium success.
Together, CombatAUS and Australian Taekwondo provide contemporary technical leadership to ensure the strategic direction of Taekwondo in Australia excels.
CombatAUS manages the elite high-performance programs for the Olympic combat sports in Australia.
Australian Taekwondo is the National Sporting Organisation representing Taekwondo in Australia and a recognised Member National Association of World Taekwondo, Australian Olympic Committee and Paralympics Australia.
