Fifteen-year-old Gaby Blewitt first tied the knot in her taekwondo belt when she was just four years old and now has her eyes fixed on being an Olympic Taekwondo Champion.
Spirit Taekwondo in Brookvale has been a second home to Gaby who has been unwaveringly training with her coach, Jason Smith, for over a decade.
“I’ve always been a very driven person, so I’ve kept going at it, and the more I’ve done it, the more passion I’ve found for it,” Gaby tells Peninsula Living.
Gaby took part in her first competition at the age of six and then competed at the state championships at just eight years old.
She hit the ground running (or kicking) and knew from a young age knew she wanted to compete in the Olympics and was willing to work tirelessly to get there. Gaby recently tackled her biggest competition yet, representing Australia at the Junior World Taekwondo Championships in Bulgaria.
“It was an amazing experience,” she said.
“The level of competition experienced overseas is one of the highest competition levels that you can get, and because the age category for me was 15 to 17 years, I was the youngest of those years.”
Due to a few medical issues in the days preceding the big event, Gaby says she ‘performed well’ but didn’t see the result that she would have liked to.
Not performing as well as planned was just fuel to the fire of burning passion and determination for this young taekwondo champion.
Gaby says the sport helps her develop a strong mental attitude and makes her ‘more determined to reach that goal’ that she has set for herself.
“When I’m in a competition and when I’m fighting, or even when I’m just training, there’s nothing else you can think about except for the person you’re facing, if your mind wanders to think of what you are having for dinner or anything else, it won’t turn out too good,” she says.
“So, it keeps you really focused on that one thing at that one time.”
The pleasure of representing Australia comes with a heavy self-funded price, as Gaby needs to find the funds to go to all of her competing events due to the national body not funding the team to represent Australia.
This means she must find the funds to pay for flights, accommodation, uniform, equipment, team wear, and travel insurance for herself and her coach.
Before the Junior World Taekwondo Championships, Gaby set up a fundraising page and said there are ‘some very generous people’ that helped her.
“I am extremely grateful to all those who were kind enough to help to the extent they were able.”
Although the local’s long-term goal is to reach the Olympics, her short-term goal is now to succeed in the Dutch Open Championships in the Netherlands next month, for which she was recently selected.
“After that, later in the year, there are the nationals, and then hopefully another Junior World Championships before I move into the seniors.
“Then more possibilities will be opened to me to aim for the Olympics and hopefully the Commonwealth Games. Australian Taekwondo is currently campaigning in their ‘#KickforVic’ to have Taekwondo included in the 2026 Commonwealth Games to be held in regional Victoria, if successful this will open another great pathway for all Taekwondo athletes in Australia.”
Gaby and her team are now working to get the funds together for the upcoming Dutch Open Championships. If you would like to help support Gaby in representing Australia, please visit asf.org.au/donate/gabriella-blewitt