2 Paris-bound Olympians get send-off at national taekwondo championships in Winnipeg

Two Canadian athletes set to compete in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games got their send-off from fans in Winnipeg on Saturday.

Taekwondo Canada's national junior and cadet championships, being held Saturday and Sunday at the RBC Convention Centre, marked the first time the championship has been held in Winnipeg in nearly two decades, as well as a farewell for two athletes of the sport who are headed to Paris later this month.

Winnipeg's Skylar Park and Josipa Kafadar of Burnaby, B.C., were the first Canadian athletes to officially be granted their tickets to Paris when they were named to Canada's Olympic taekwondo team in April.

Park is leading the small Canadian taekwondo team in what will be the 25-year-old's second time at the Olympics, following her Olympic debut at the 2020 Tokyo Games.

Although the pressure is on, Park says she learned a lot from her experience in Tokyo.

"I've learned how to handle those nerves, and handle that pressure, and so coming into this Games, I'm really coming in with a different perspective this time," she told CBC Saturday.

"The goal for me is always a gold medal, and to stand on top of that podium."

Park said it was special to meet so many young athletes in her hometown before she heads to Paris.

"To see them excited to meet us and just to wish us luck in Paris, and for me to be able to watch them compete is special for sure."

Park was also happy to see the championships being held in Winnipeg, where she and Kafadar met fans and signed autographs.

Kafadar, 23, has won four medals since 2023, including gold at the Luxembourg and British opens. She earned silver at the 2021 world juniors.

She's never competed at the Olympics before, but says she has lots of competitive experience to draw on.