Glendale resident Kaelynn Yvonne Manalo, a 14-year-old student at Woodrow Wilson Middle School, won a gold medal and was selected “Best Female Athlete” at the recent Cadet Pan American Championships in the Dominican Republic.
Manalo was selected to Team USA after winning the team trial earlier this year in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
In her most recent competition in the Dominican Republic, she defeated a Canadian opponent in the final match to claim the title. She had beaten an Ecuador representative in the semifinals.
Kaelynn and her sister, Amber, took up the Korean martial art sport of taekwondo in 2016 and trained under the late Joseph Salim, a former Olympian, at Salim Taekwondo Center. After her coach passed away last year, Kaelynn and her teammates have been coached by their late coach’s brother, Gergely Salim, who is also an Olympic gold medalist.
First published in the May 27 print issue of the Glendale News-Press.
