Silver Medal for Buffalo Grove Taekwondo Student Erin Driscoll

For promising young students like 12-year-old Erin Driscoll of Buffalo Grove, the 2013 USA Taekwondo National Championship was a mighty first step on the path to athletic glory. The blue belt student of the White Tiger Martial Arts Center in Wheeling left the tournament – the world’s largest taekwondo competition – proudly bearing a silver medal in sparring.

“Erin’s dedication and determination are second to none” said Driscoll’s instructor, White Tiger Head Master Shik Lee. “Not many White Tiger students are driven to compete on all three special teams – forms, sparring and board breaking – and she is also one of the few female competitors on our sparring team. The entire center is proud of her efforts and she has a bright future in taekwondo.”

More than 4,000 athletes competed at this year’s national championship, held in Chicago, IL from July 3-9 and boasting Olympic-level training technology. The United States Olympic Committee recognizes USA Taekwondo as the governing body for the sport in the U.S., and victory at USAT’s national level is an important step on the road to compete for the U.S. at the XXXI Olympic Summer Games, to be held in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. For young athletes under the age of 16, who are not yet eligible to enter Olympic trials, the USAT nationals serve as the highest and most prestigious level of competition they can achieve.