Local athlete earns spot on World team

Thursday, April 17, 2008

Local athlete earns spot on World team

by Ted Black | Staff Writer

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Gwynn Park High School freshman Olie Burton III will be amassing a bevy of frequent flyer miles this spring.

After winning the finweight division at the U.S. World Junior Taekwondo Team Trials in Des Moines, Iowa two weekends ago, Burton will train in Colorado before traveling with the U.S. team to Izmir, Turkey, for the World Junior Taekwondo Championships.

Burton defeated Illinois resident Jeffrey Williams, 6-3, and Missouri native Lyles Moore, 9-2, and then defeated Williams again, 5-3, to claim first place in Des Moines and earn one of 16 spots to compete in Turkey next month. Burton will travel to Colorado Springs on April 30 to train at the U.S. Olympic Training Center and then venture to Turkey on May 3 to begin final preparations for the May 7-11 tournament.

‘‘One night before the first fight with Jeffrey Williams, me and my coach [Patrice Remarck] looked at the tapes of some of his previous fights,” Burton said. ‘‘He pointed out some things in [Williams’] technique and we worked on exploiting his holes. The second fight with him was a lot closer. Against Lyles, I had pretty much controlled that fight from the start. It was a big thrill. I didn’t have much time to celebrate. I was off Saturday and Sunday and then back to practice on Monday.”

Burton noted that his practice schedule will intensify between now and the end of the month, including some training sessions lasting as long as four and a half hours.

‘‘I’m really looking forward to going to Colorado,” Burton said. ‘‘It will be great to train there. I’m really looking forward to going to Turkey. I went to Germany in March for an international tournament and finished first over there. I’m going to practice hard between now and the end of the month. I’ll go over some things with my coach and hone my technique.”

E-mail Ted Black at tblack@gazette.net.