The Gold Coast is set to host two major World Taekwondo sparring events over one massive weekend! The Australian Open and WT President's Cup Oceania are set to bring around 900 athletes from over 40 countries to compete for valuable ranking points at the G2 and G3 events. For Australian Taekwondo, it is an opportunity to open our doors to some of the world's best and let our top athletes compete on home soil.

From proven senior campaigners to rising prospects pushing into the upper tier, this year’s field carries genuine depth. Some arrive with Olympic and World Championship credentials. Others bring recent continental success, breakthrough performances and clear upward momentum.

Here are 10 Australian athletes to watch when the action begins on the Gold Coast.

Ben Camua has quietly built a solid body of senior international experience and should not be overlooked on home soil. Trained by Prodigy Martial Arts, Camua is quickly rising as one of Australia's next top talents after a successful campaign at this year's Oceania Championships, where he won gold.

Camua also recently competed overseas at the WT President's Cup Europe, making it through to the Round of 16, and managed to podium at the Luxembourg Open.

Now having competed on two Senior World Championship teams, Ben is ready to demonstrate his fast reflexes and lightning agility at the Australian international events.

Some say Liam Sweeney has one of the heaviest kicks in the country right now. After training with the Australian High Performance Program for the past few years, Liam has now moved to Spain to join the Hankuk International School and further progress his skills as an athlete.

Liam recently competed at the WT President's Cup Europe, where he finished T17th, and is now on his way back to Australia to compete in his home state of sunny Queensland. The Global Martial Arts Brisbane athlete won gold at the Oceania Championships earlier this year and has now made the Round of 16 at consecutive Senior World Championships.

Sweeney is currently ranked 26th in the M-80 division as he looks to make his mark on the Australian competition.

Stacey Hymer enters this event as one of Australia's most decorated active athletes. Having represented Australia at both the Tokyo and Paris Olympic Games, she brings a wealth of experience that puts her in good stead for these events.

Hymer finished in the Round of 16 at last year's World Championships and will look to continue her form into the new Olympic cycle as she aims to retain her place for the Los Angeles Games. The Victorian Olympian is one of three Australians to compete in this year's Roma Grand Prix, where her campaign was cut short by fellow Australian champion Gabriella Blewitt.

Ranked 31st in the F-57 division and having won two bronze medals at last year's tournaments, one of Australia's most technically proficient fighters is set and ready for a huge run at the June events.

It would be hard to find anyone in Australia who works harder than Matthew Summerfield, and he is one of the key leaders of the Australian High Performance Team.

Summerfield broke Australia's 14-year medal drought at the Junior World Championships in 2022 and is now looking to make his mark on the senior international scene. He has started the year strongly, winning bronze at the Canadian Open and gold at the Oceania Championships.

Originally from Western Australia, he now represents Heart Taekwondo in Melbourne, where he trains full-time at the National Performance Centre.

He comes into the Australian Open and WT President's Cup ranked ninth in the world in the M-63 division, looking to continue his great start to 2026.

Towards the end of the 2024 Olympic cycle, Juliet Lahood was one of the premier athletes in the country. She won gold at the Oceania Championships and Pacific Games, silver at the 2024 Spanish Open and bronze at the U.S. Championships.

She decided to take a hiatus from the conventional high-performance program and worked closely with biomechanists to refine her movement and performance. After nine months away from the mats, she returned with a training camp in Thailand before rejoining the National Performance Centre in Melbourne.

After speaking with Lahood, she said: "Returning to the high-performance environment has felt like coming home, and with the remarkable support of Head Coach Seokhun Lee, Ryan Carneli, Yosup Kim and the entire CombatAUS team behind me, I am extremely motivated and ready to chase my dreams of competing at the LA28 Olympic Games."

The walls came crashing down for Leon Sejranovic just over 12 months ago when he tore his ACL after reaching one of the highest points of his career.

Sejranovic put Australia on the map at the Senior World Championships in 2023, winning Australia's first bronze medal in many years. Not long after, Leon donned the Australian dobok at the Paris Olympic Games before spending the past year on the sidelines working tirelessly through his rehabilitation to return to full fitness.

He had one fight at the U.S. Championships as a measured return to competition, but he is now off the leash and ready to rip in on the Gold Coast in a week's time.

Saffron Tambyrajah has long been regarded as one of Australia's sharpest technicians, with incredible reach and mobility for her size class.

She has been one of Australia's most consistent performers over the past few years, medalling at the past two Australian international events with one silver and one bronze. During the High Performance tour of North America, Tambyrajah added two more bronze medals to her trophy cabinet. She also made the Round of 16 at this year's World Championships.

Categorised as a Podium Potential athlete for 2026, Tambyrajah is ready to go deep into the June events and make a statement for this Olympic cycle.

Australian heavyweight champion Aiden Stilley is one of the dominant forces to be reckoned with, armed with a big right leg that packs a serious punch.

Aiden is coming off qualification for the Roma Grand Prix after starting the year with medals at both the U.S. Open (bronze) and Canadian Open (silver). A quarterfinal finish at the U21 World Championships, a Round of 16 finish at the Senior World Championships, and silver at the 2024 Junior World Championships have seen the Hall's Taekwondo athlete make his mark on the international scene, where he is now ranked 11th in the world.

At last year's Australian international events, he came away with two silver medals, falling just short in both finals. He will return this year with a bone to pick and a desire to amend those results.

Reba Stewart brings pedigree, experience and proven championship composure. The Hall's Taekwondo athlete represented Australia at the Tokyo Olympic Games and remains one of Australia's top prospects for the current Olympic cycle.

Last year, Stewart was awarded the highest honour in Australian Taekwondo, the Lauren Burns Medal, recognising a multitude of semi-final and quarter-final finishes at major international events. Her most recent achievements include a Round of 16 finish at the 2025 World Championships and a silver medal at this year's Canadian Open.

Stewart also qualified for the Roma Grand Prix but was forced to withdraw due to injury.

She was the standout performer for Australia at last year's events, claiming double gold. Reba will be looking to reclaim her throne and go back-to-back in a couple of weeks' time.

It has been the year of Gabriella Blewitt, the new princess prodigy of Australian Taekwondo.

With unmatched footwork and exceptional match awareness, Blewitt only seems to be getting better and better. She took the nation by storm at the most recent Senior World Championships in Wuxi during her first appearance at that level, defeating athletes from Puerto Rico, Türkiye and the No. 2 seed from Ecuador on her way to the semi-finals.

She has accrued an impressive collection of medals, including gold at the Oceania Championships, Canadian Open and 2025 Australian Open, as well as silver at the U.S. Open and 2025 WT President's Cup Oceania.

A family-oriented and humble superstar from Spirit Taekwondo, currently ranked third in the world in the W-62 division and fresh off a quarter-final finish at her first Grand Prix, Gaby is definitely the athlete to watch closely on the Gold Coast.

With these events being among the first major opportunities of the new Olympic cycle, it is a brilliant chance for the athletes on this list to secure valuable world ranking points. Back-to-back G-ranked events open the door for elite athletes from around the world to test their skills against the very best Australia has to offer.

All information regarding the 2026 Australian Open and WT President's Cup Oceania can be found at:

Austkd.info/GoldCoast