First-year advertising major and marketing minor, Isabelle Collyer, recently won a gold medal at the 2022 National Collegiate Taekwondo Championships (NCTA).
鈥淚 was so excited to have won gold at the NCTA,鈥 Collyer said. 鈥淏eing a freshman, this was my first time being able to compete at the event, so I was so happy for my first time to be a success.鈥
In the national competition, Collyer competed for Kent State against 50 universities and became the first female to ever win a gold medal representing the university. Her first competitor was beaten 4-1 and her second 14-0 for the gold medal in Olympic Sparring.
鈥淪parring is a full-contact fighting match where you kick and punch to gain points,鈥 Collyer said. 鈥淎t the end of three two-minute rounds, whoever has scored the most points is the winner.
Without an official Taekwondo club at Kent State, Collyer competed as the only competitor for the university.
Collyer said that the chest and headgear worn while competing are electronic, and it scores the points automatically for kicks, whereas punches to the body are scored by the corner judges.
Collyer has trained in Taekwondo at Asian Sun in Hudson since she was a 6-year-old yellow belt in kindergarten.
鈥淚 actually only started doing the sport because of my brother,鈥 Collyer said. 鈥淗e wanted to join, and I, being in every sport that I could be at the time, begged to do it with him.鈥
She has competed in many competitions from small local and state tournaments to nationals, all the way to International tournament events. Many of these tournaments have been around the world in countries like Canada, Mexico and Korea where she has won medals in each county.
鈥淐ompeting in a national competition is so much different than a local or state competition,鈥 Collyer said. 鈥淭here are so many different teams all cheering as loud as they can for their athletes and it can be a bit intimidating at first for people who aren't used to it.鈥
To be eligible to compete at the NCTA event, you must show your student status, transcripts and be 18-25 years of age. Collyer is the current NCTA welterweight champion and therefore qualified to compete in Merida, Mexico in the 2022 FISU America Games in the fall.
Collyer continues to be optimistic and hopes that next year there will be more Flashes to compete in the tournament.
To learn more and watch live streams of the 2022 NCTA Championships visit