A YOUNG taekwondo star is all set to begin the next big stage in her career and will be relocating from Darlington to Manchester to train as an athlete full-time.
16-year-old Morgan Curtis has been selected to join the World Class GB Taekwondo Team at the National Taekwondo Centre in Manchester.
The teenager showed a keen interest in the sport from the age of four at Koryo Quakers in Darlington, and started competing at the age of five.
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Morgan’s mum Melissa said: “It was probably seeing Jade Jones win an Olympic gold medal at London 2012. We were all watching it on the tele and Morgan was saying she wanted to do that one day. So that’s probably where her drive came from.
"She wanted to work towards something rather than just doing it as a hobby she enjoyed so she started taking it more seriously.”
Morgan has been training twice a week at Koryo Quakers and she is also part of a younger GB development team which she was selected for in September 2021, and since then has been training every other weekend in Manchester.
Morgan will be travelling to Manchester this Sunday to start her full-time training next week.
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Melissa said: “Morgan’s had to work so hard to get to this point. She’s really driven and determined and pushes herself.”
Morgan has even been sponsored by a gym, Physique Fitness, in Darlington for two years to support her and she’s had free gym membership to push her towards her fitness goals.
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In order to be chosen for the training, Morgan had to show real potential in ‘phase one’ of the selection process, fighting off stiff competition.
‘Phase two’ was a bootcamp and Morgan had to go to Manchester for a few days to completed various training exercises including strength and conditioning, and a medical exam to ensure there was no reason she wouldn’t be able to cope with the demands of the training.
At 16, Morgan is still classed as a junior but when young taekwondo athletes are taken on for this kind of training, they are judged on their potential ability as a senior (18 and over).
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Melissa said: “Morgan’s got her head screwed on and she’s continuing her education during her training. She’s doing a Level 3 Extended Sport Science diploma. She’s not daft and she knows that with an impact sport, it’s never something you can do for life.
“When we got the email to say she’d been accepted (onto the full-time training) we were all just so emotional because she’s so young and so driven. I just want my kids to live their dreams. I want to give Morgan everything to succeed and it’s now up to her.
“This new chapter is really exciting for Morgan to achieve something that she’s only ever dreamed of. She’s on that pathway now and she can work towards the Olympics.”
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