A total of six gold medals came the country's way across the senior male and female categories, with Cyprus' Kyriaki Kouttouki and Canada's Charlotte Brown the only two athletes able to break the mould in the women's under 46 kilogram and under 53kg respectively.

In the women's under 62kg category, Rachelle Booth overcame Canada's Marlène Harnois in the gold medal match, while the under 73kg class saw more Canadian heartbreak inflicted as Nathalie Iliesco lost out to Jade Slavin in the final.

The trend continued in the men's side of the draw as Andrew Deer and England B's Max Cater, competing in the under 74kg and under 54kg respectively, also beat Canadian opposition in the shape of Eloi Paradis Deschenes and Tyler Muscat.

There was further male success for Jordan Gale in the under 63kg and Mahama Cho in the 87kg.

The sixth edition of the Championships included a Para-taekwondo competition for the first time as the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) continued to demonstrate its commitment to providing universal opportunities for all athletes to take part in elite level tournaments under the philosophy of "one-taekwondo".

The competition featured Poomsae (martial art forms) events for athletes with intellectual disabilities and neurological impairments, as well as Para-taekwondo Kyorugi (full-contact sparring) demonstration matches.

Although it is only Kyorugi which is under consideration for inclusion on the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic sports programme, the WTF has been working closely with all the International Organisations of Sports for the Disabled (IOSDs) to provide opportunities for athletes of all impairments.

The Poomsae events reflected the WTF's close collaboration with the International Sports Federation for Persons with an Intellectual Disability (Inas) and the Cerebral Palsy International Sports and Recreation Association (CPISRA), it is claimed. 

Jordan Gale claimed victory in the under 63kg ©Getty Images



The WTF signed Memorandums of Understanding with Inas and CPISRA in June 2013 to learn from their experience and expertise and develop the sport for people of all impairments.

The WTF followed the Inas provisional eligibility criteria throughout the Championships and Para-taekwondo Poomsae will be included on the Inas Global Games programme in Ecuador next year.

"We are delighted that, for the first time ever, Para-taekwondo Championships have been held alongside the Commonwealth Taekwondo Championships," said WTF President Chungwon Choue after the event.

"This comes as part of our commitment to increasing the number of competitions available to both Kyorugi and Poomsae Para-taekwondo athletes."

Commonwealth Taekwondo Union President Adrian Tranter added: "It is of significant importance that we have been fortunate to include Para-taekwondo within the Commonwealth Taekwondo Union Championships.

"The addition of disabled athletes in the Poomsae competitions has increased awareness within the taekwondo family here in Edinburgh and I am certain that other major events will follow our initiative."

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


Related stories
November 2014: Jones lands under 57kg crown at Commonwealth Taekwondo Championships
November 2014: Commonwealth Taekwondo Championships set to begin in Edinburgh
July 2014: Scottish capital Edinburgh to host 2014 Commonwealth Taekwondo Championships