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With two ITF (international Taekwondo Federation) World Championships gold medals in tow, it’s incredible to think that Geelong’s Lindy Crouch started taking Taekwondo lessons a little over a year ago.
Lindy, 25, recently returned from Buenos Aires, Argentina, where this year’s Championships were held, breaking new ground as the first person with Down Syndrome to represent Australia at the tournament. She was also the only person from the Australian team to take home gold this year.
“Because Lindy was the first, she is paving the way for many more to compete at future games,” said Jayne Crouch, Lindy’s mum who accompanied Lindy during the five-day competition.
Competing in the Special Needs category, Lindy won gold in both the Adult Individual Yellow Belt Patterns and the Mixed Abilities event. Lindy also had the honour of bearing the Australian flag during the opening ceremony, something she was very proud of.
A member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Lindy was not afraid to share her beliefs during the tournament, often encouraging her teammates to take care of their bodies and use clean language, said Jayne.
“Lindy not only competed but she exhibited her beautiful spirit that the Undersecretary of the International Federation commented ‘cemented the Australian team together’,” said Jayne.
“Lindy was also very excited when other members of the team won medals and was encouraging when attending training sessions, using her catch cry, ‘I can do it’.”
While proud of her achievements, it’s straight back to training for golden girl Lindy, who has her sights set on earning a higher colour belt and competing at the 2020 ITF World Championships in Russia.