MUJU, Korea (Aug. 28, 2025) - USA’s CJ Nickolas and Korea’s Yeji Lee clinched gold medals on the opening day of the Muju Taekwondowon 2025 World Taekwondo Grand Prix Challenge.

 

Nickolas followed up his triumph at the World Taekwondo Grand Prix Challenge in Charlotte, USA in June by making it back-to-back victories at Korea’s premier Taekwondo venue.

 

He recovered from losing the first round to Korea’s Jaegwon Kang in the Men’s -80kg final to earn his latest gold medal.

 

Henrique M. Rodrigues Fernandes of Brazil won bronze, beating Victor Rodrigues of USA.

 

In the Women’s -49kg event, Lee sealed a memorable gold for the host nation on day one with a thrilling triumph over Individual Neutral Athlete (AIN) Alisa Angelova in the final.

 

The match went to a deciding third round, which Lee edged after it finished 15-15 to earn an impressive victory.

 

Bronze went to Nodira Akhmedova of Kazakhstan, who overcame Vietnam’s Truong Thi Kim Tuyen.

 

Medallists at the Muju Taekwondowon 2025 World Taekwondo Grand Prix Challenge earn invitations to the 2026 World Taekwondo Grand Prix Series 2 in Paris.

 

Competition continues tomorrow with the Men’s -68kg and Women’s +67kg, and will run until Sunday (31 August).