The double-bronze medallist from the 2009 ITF world championships called his trip earlier this month an “amazing” experience that offered something different than other events he’s attended during his career.
Sponsored by a Jamaican soft drink company, the Continental Gold Cup brought five-member teams from Poland, Argentina, Japan and Canada (the top finishers from their respective continents at last year’s worlds) to Jamaica to face their country’s best.
It was a well-promoted event that brought out lots of fans, LeGrow recounts, noting each team was given its own dressing room and they had entrance music as they made their way to the ring at the centre of the approximately 2,000-seat arena. And to top things off, LeGrow faced a fighter from Jamaica in his first match.
“With the crowd cheering (for the Jamaican athlete), for me, it was like being the bad guy versus Hulk Hogan in the 1980s,” laughs LeGrow, who competed in the hyperweight class. “Nobody wanted me to win, except my team.”
Right after the opening bell, however, LeGrow scored three high kicks to the face and outmatched his opponent. That earned him the respect of the crowd since he was really on another level than their own prized fighter.
“It was really cool,” says the fifth-degree black belt. “It was almost like being a taekwon-do celebrity for a day.”
LeGrow lost his next match in an overtime round to a New Zealand martial artist who enjoyed a bye through the first round of the draw, but rebounded to win the bronze medal match, gaining a bit of revenge in the process against an Argentine opponent who had beaten him at the 2009 worlds.
Once the Gold Cup competition wrapped up, it was off to Orlando for an International Sport Karate Association open martial arts event – the first time LeGrow competed in mixed-discipline bouts. The biggest adjustment for LeGrow was that the rings were three metres smaller in both length and width than the 9x9 m he was accustomed to.
“There’s a lot more contact and brawling,” notes LeGrow, who didn’t get any time to go on rides even though they stayed at a Disney resort. “A two-minute match in a normal ring for us felt like a five-minute match.”
The 32-year-old managed to win a silver medal nonetheless despite the unfamiliar atmosphere, although he’s still nursing his ribs from the kick delivered by his same Argentine rival in the final.
LeGrow, who took a break from competing for several years after opening up his Blackburn school in 2001, is now looking ahead to the next world championships in 2011.
“I have two goals: I want to do one more world championships, and I want to win,” states LeGrow, who collected a trio of third-place finishes during his three previous worlds trips. “I want to break the bronze medal curse. I want to win gold.”
