SUSF Elite Athlete Program (EAP) scholarship holder Samantha Faddoul is preparing for her third ITF Taekwondo Championships after her selection in the Australian squad that will compete in Spain in October.
Faddoul, a second year Bachelor of Education (Early Childhood) student at the University of Sydney, qualified for this year’s World Championships after strong performances at the 2012 National Championships (first place) and 2013 General Choi Cup (third place).
It will be Faddoul’s third consecutive appearance at the World Championships, after representing her country at the 2009 tournament in Argentina and in New Zealand in 2011.
After suffering defeat in the first round of the competition in 2009, before bouncing back with a bronze medal two years later, Faddoul is confident that the experience that she has picked up over the past four years will hold her in good stead.
“2009 was a tough experience for me,” explains the 19 year Granville Taekwondo Club representative.
“You don’t know what it’s like until you get there and you see all of your competitors and all of the fanatical crowd support. It was overwhelming. The tournament experience flew by.”
Failures often teach you more about yourself than your triumphs and the ‘under 56kg’ female senior sparring competitor has continually improved her discipline. “After that I had more motivation to get back to that level again and get something out of it. Two years later I was selected to compete at the Championships again and finished with a bronze medal. I was really happy with my achievements and now I want to do even better. “
“Because I have soo much more experience now, I think I know what to expect and I know what I need to improve on.”
Faddoul will spend the next the next four months training twice a day and attending regular Australian team training camps under the guidance of a ninth degree Taekwondo Master and the teams head coach.
She will also compete in a number of local club competitions located around Australia.
