BRANDON Sealy went to Santo Domingo and did what he always does: performed when it counted.

Competing at the Centro Olímpico Juan Pablo Duarte against more than 850 athletes from over 30 nations, he fought his way through the CAC Games Qualification Tournament on April 9 and 10, securing Jamaica’s place in the M-80kg division at the Central American and Caribbean Games Santo Domingo 2026.

Alexandra Natto, competing in the W-46kg division, fought her way through the same tournament and secured her own CAC Games qualification — making her the first female athlete World Taekwondo Jamaica has placed at this competition. Jamaica will arrive in Santo Domingo this July with full gender representation for the first time.

Then Sealy stayed in the building. He entered the Dominican Open G1, a ranking event that drew Olympic champions and world medallists from across the region, and fought his way onto the podium with a bronze medal. In a field of that quality, standing on that podium in a Jamaican tracksuit is not a small thing. the medal adds ranking points that matter directly to his LA 2028 Olympic campaign.

Princeton graduate. Two-time consecutive WT gold medallist. CAC Games qualifier. Dominican Open G1 bronze medallist. Team captain, World Taekwondo Jamaica. Brandon Sealy keeps adding to his story — and Jamaica keeps watching.

Spencer Hall, Jamaica’s heavyweight representative based in Manchester, United Kingdom, stepped onto the mat at a major UK competition and delivered a gold medal for Jamaica. A heavyweight champion, competing thousands of miles from the island, wearing the Jamaican colours and winning.

Before Santo Domingo, Jamaica was already competing at the highest junior stage in the world. At the World Taekwondo Junior Championships in Tashkent, Uzbekistan — the premier global stage for junior athletes — Jamaica sent two of its best. Damar Walker and Daniel Balli flew to Central Asia, stepped onto the mat against the best junior fighters on the planet, and competed with the Jamaican flag on their backs. Both athletes qualified for and competed in the championships. The delegation was led personally by President and Head Coach Master Kenroy Clarke, who stood in the corner for both athletes in Tashkent.

At the Canada Open, junior athlete Daniel Balli stepped onto an international stage and refused to leave quietly. He battled through four rounds of tough competition and came home with a bronze medal for Jamaica.

And then there is the next generation. Kende Bentho, just 12 years old, stepped onto the mat and competed in his first international fight representing Jamaica as a cadet.

Behind every one of these results is a structural shift that goes far beyond training hours.

World Taekwondo Jamaica has appointed Grandmaster Young In Bang (8th Dan) as high performance director, and Master Tony Byon as head coach. Together they form the most credentialled coaching team this federation has ever had.

Grandmaster Bang’s record speaks for itself. Five-time Olympic head coach. Architect of two Olympic gold medals at Beijing 2008. Seven Olympic medals across five consecutive Games. Nineteen World Championship medals. 3,269 World Taekwondo Coach Ranking Points — one of the highest totals in the Americas. For nearly 20 years he built Mexico into an Olympic Taekwondo power from a grass-roots foundation. He knows exactly how to do it for Jamaica. His commitment runs through Brisbane 2032 — two full Olympic cycles of elite coaching intelligence, delivered remotely through his Bang Elite Satellite Coaching Model.

Master Tony Byon brings that vision to the mat every day as head coach — the hands-on technical director guiding Jamaica’s athletes through camp, competition, and the daily grind of elite preparation. His corner work in Santo Domingo delivered Sealy’s CAC Games qualification and Dominican Open Bronze in the same week.

This rebuilding phase is also being powered by people. Jamaican alumni and diaspora leaders are stepping in. Among those standing behind the federation are Dr Altreisha Foster-Bentho, Eldon Chuck, Dr Lesley Ann Miller, Tanecia Natto, Tracy Balli, and Sandra Sealy — alongside many others who believe deeply in the future of Olympic Taekwondo in Jamaica.