SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4 Sports) – Adrianna Kupec got into the sport of Taekwondo kind of by accident.
“I was looking for a sport to do when I was younger, obviously doing some kind of physical activity,” she said. “I tried dance and some other sports. I was watching a martial arts movie and I thought it would be cool to try karate, and then we had a friend tell us he was opening a Taekwondo school so I thought hey, I’ll got try that instead and I’ve been here ever since.”
And she’s exceled at the sport. Last month, Kupec won her age class at the Taekwondo US Open event in Las Vegas.
“I was a little nervous at first,” she said. “This was my first time in a bigger division so I was a little worried, but I was excited to try to fight this bigger division.”
Her coach, Will Pace, who has produced several national champions, said Adrianna’s height is big advantage. But she also has other skill sets.
“Very very quick, her brain, the way she can process information is her gift,” Pace said. “Not a lot of fear, very very confident in the ring. It doesn’t matter who we put in front of her. We can put an Olympian in front of her or an avergae every day kid and it’s the same, she’s very even keeled.”
Kupec has goals of achieving bigger things in the future.
“Keep going, keep working hard,” she said. “Trying to get to as many tournaments as possible and do my best at every single one.”
