Rachel Fountain is a two-time national champion
Rachel Fountain is now a twotime national champion in taekwondo after returning home from the 2019 Canadian National Championships in Quebec City with a gold medal in the junior +68 kg female division.
Her win also earned her a spot at the Pan Am Games in which the date and location are still being determined.
“I was really proud of myself,” said Fountain. “I knew that I wanted to win so I was like ‘I’m going to win gold and I’m going to do my best.’ ”
Fountain said she learned a lot at the tournament because she wasn’t the tallest fighter, which she is used to.
“I actually learned that I have to fight a bit differently when I am the shorter opponent because you can’t really reach their head so you have to kick to the body instead,” said Fountain.
Fountain, 14, has been practising taekwondo since she was seven years old and said she started because her uncle wanted her to try out classes at the YMCA. She said she trained there until she got her green belt and then moved to Black Belt World in Waterloo, which is where she still trains today.
According to her instructor — Master Greg Bauer — there are 15 Black Belt World locations and he runs the two in Kitchener and Waterloo. He said it is an elite martial arts studio that produces national champions as well as Olympic level athletes.
He explained that the elite athletes from each location, including Fountain, train together every Saturday and Sunday in Milton. Here, they train with electronic body pads and helmets to practice hitting the pad properly. As well, they take part in simulated sparring matches for two to three hours during their training.
Bauer said this is great experience for Fountain, as she is getting the opportunity to train with high level athletes.
“Rachel is training with world champions and has a ton of mentors along the way and that will help things along,” said Bauer.
Fountain currently has her second degree black belt poom in taekwondo and competes in kyorugi (sparring). Bauer speaks highly of Fountain as he explains how talented she already is for her age.
“I actually was at the senior national championships this weekend and I was scouting the heavyweight women to see how Rachel would have fared and I think she would have been national champion, I think she could have won.”
When looking at Fountain’s short-term goals in the sport, she explains that she would like to win a gold medal at the Pan Am Games and also become a
three-time national champion.
In the future, she wants to become an Olympic champion and bring home a gold for Canada.
Bauer said he believes she can get there.
“Rachel’s long-term goal is the Olympics and we have identified her as a possible Olympian for 2024 and with the amount of national champions we produce, that is saying something because we don’t identify everyone as a potential Olympian,” said Bauer.
According to Bauer, when the athlete is old enough and begins to look toward the next Olympic year, they will compete in various tournaments and competitions in places such as Europe in order to collect points to get there.
“As you go through and build points, the more you get puts you closer to the Olympics,” said Bauer.
Since Fountain is too young to compete in the 2020 Olympics, Bauer said at the moment, she needs to focus on using all of her competitions as experience to get ready for the possibility of attending the 2024 Olympics.
He said they will need to look toward getting sponsors and funding as it will be expensive for her to travel internationally to various competitions. Bauer said there is little funding for taekwondo in Canada at the moment, so most events are self-funded.
“It’s going to be a long process,” said Bauer. “The commitment level for kids wanting to get to the Olympics in 2024 is a 10year commitment minimum. If they don’t stick to it they won’t reach it but a lot of the people that stick to it they will get there if they have the talent and we think she has the talent.
“We are proud of the strides she has made already but we know the potential she has,” said Bauer. “In fact, even one of the Olympic coaches has commented that she could be one of the few that we get to the Olympics in the future and I was already thinking that and it was reconfirmed by him.”
Along with her win in Quebec City, Fountain has also won a silver medal at the 2017 Canadian National Championships in Calgary in the cadet female +59 kg division, and also won gold in this category at the 2018 Canadian National Championships in Ottawa.
Over her years of training, Fountain said some of the things she has learned from taekwondo include courtesy, integrity, perseverance and self-control. She said it has become such an important part of her life.
“In the ring I am always excited to fight,” said Fountain. “When I go into the ring I go in and say ‘OK, I am going to have fun with it and I am going to go do my best’ and when I am training I always have fun. It’s always a good time for me and I love doing it,” said Fountain.
“I owe my success to my parents and my coaches Master Ryan, Master Bauer and Master Jay because they have all helped me,” said Fountain.