The Gold Coast International events will again provide one of the most important stages on the Poomsae calendar, bringing together world champions, medallists, long-time national representatives and a new generation of athletes ready to make their mark on the global Poomsae scene.
This year the Gold Coast will host three Poomsae Events in four days in a packed schedule. The event carries added intrigue across the Australian Open, WT President's Cup and Oceania Championships. Some athletes arrive with decades of international success behind them. Others are building momentum through recent World Championships selections and breakthrough performances. Together, they shape an Australian team with genuine depth and quality in preparation for this year's Poomsae World Championships.
Here are 10 poomsae athletes to watcha little closer at the Gold Coast Open.
10. Sara Wong
Sara Wong continues to establish herself as one of the most promising young athletes in the Australian poomsae pathway. She was selected in Australia’s 2024 World Poomsae Championships team for Hong Kong, and will make her second World Championships appearance this year.
Still at the beginning of her international career, Wong has already shown an ability to perform in championship environments. The Gold Coast events offers another strong platform for her continued development and a chance to measure herself against higher-level domestic competition.
9. Ill Joong Yang
Ill Joong Yang brings established experience and long-term credibility to the field. A multiple World Championships team athlete, Yang was named as a coach on Australia’s 2024 World Poomsae Championships campaign in Hong Kong but will step back on the mat at this year's competition.
Ill Joong has competed on multiple Australian national teams and in this year's masters ranks, his value is not only in results but in consistency. He is one of those athletes whose technical standards and experience tend to shape the quality of the division around him.
8. Kiara Evans
Kiara Evans enters the Gold Coast events with a growing résumé at national and international level.
At just 24 years of age, Kiara has now made her 5th National team, and is hunting for triple gold at this week's events. Repeated selection at this level is a strong reflection of consistency. Evans has established herself as a regular presence in the national program and remains an athlete capable of producing a strong performance at major events.
7. Andrew Tran
Andrew Tran is an exciting young athletes breaking into the senior pipeline, combining his normal recognised poomsae skills with freestyle ambitions. He was selected for Australia’s 2022 World Poomsae Championships team and again named in the 2024 national team for Hong Kong, where he competed in the junior male division and advanced to the Round of 16.
That body of work supports his standing as one of the country’s leading younger male poomsae athletes. With freestyle also part of his program, Tran brings a broader competitive profile than most and should be one of the more closely watched performers on the Gold Coast.
6. Minseung Choi
Minseung Choi is one of Australia’s most relevant current male poomsae athletes after helping secure bronze in the Under 50 Male Team division at the 2024 World Poomsae Championships. Alongside Jiheon An and Sukwon Choi, he advanced to the semi-finals before Australia fell to eventual gold medallists Korea. Choi had also previously been selected for the 2022 World Poomsae Championships team and will represent Australian in the 31-40 division this week.
That recent world medal gives Choi clear momentum heading into the Gold Coast events.
5. Alexander Choo
Alexander Choo enters the Gold Coast events on the back of a significant recent international result, having won a medal at the 2024 World Poomsae Championships in pairs alongside Alicia Grigg. Back again in the Australian 18-30 pairs team with Alicia, they are looking to bring gold back at the World Championships. That world-level success places Choo among the athletes to watch closely.
4. Alicia Grigg
Alicia Grigg returns to the home competition with strong relevance after her 2024 World Poomsae Championships medal in pairs with Alexander Choo. Australia’s overall 2024 campaign delivered three silver and four bronze medals in what Australian Taekwondo called a historic World Championships performance, giving added context to the level of competition Grigg has already handled successfully. Alicia is returning to the World Championships pairs with her medalling partner Alexander.
3. Carmela Hartnett
Few athletes in Australian poomsae can match Carmela Hartnett’s longevity or breadth of achievement. Australian Taekwondo’s profile on Hartnett describes an extraordinary career that includes 32 separate national poomsae titles between 1990 and 2025, over 164 international poomsae medals, and four World Taekwondo World Championships medals. Hartnett also contributed to Australia’s record-breaking 2024 World Poomsae Championships campaign as part of a medal-winning masters team. Her standing in Australian taekwondo extends well beyond competition, but when she steps onto the floor, she remains one of the most credentialled and respected athletes in the country.
2. Barry Jordan
Barry Jordan remains one of the defining names in Australian poomsae. Australian Taekwondo’s honour roll confirms he won World Championships gold in 2016 in Peru, placing him in rare company as a world champion. He later added a gold medal at the 2021 WT Online Poomsae Open Challenge III and has also been recognised as one of Australia’s previous World Poomsae Open Challenge gold medallists.
Jordan’s relevance endures because athletes of his calibre do not lose their importance to the sport. He brings championship experience, proven international quality and the kind of profile that immediately elevates the competitive significance of any event he enters.
1. Bronwyn Butterworth
Bronwyn Butterworth sits at the top of this list on the strength of one of the most accomplished careers in Australian poomsae history. Butterworth won World Championships gold in 2016, while adding 2024 two silver medals at the previous world's event in Hong Kong.
Her broader record is exceptional. Butterworth was listed as the 2024 Poomsae Athlete of the Year in Australian Taekwondo’s national awards. A seven time Poomsae World Championships medallist, making her Australia's most decorated athlete at the major international events. She will be looking to build on her international medal tally this weekend.
What makes the Gold Coast International especially compelling this year is the excitement of three events in such short succession. It is a great opportunity for our Australian team to perfect their craft
For spectators, coaches and athletes alike, that blend of history, quality and emerging talent should make poomsae one of the most compelling parts of the Gold Coast Internationals schedule.
