Leon's Story
Victorian Leon Sejranovic broke a long Australian drought when he won a bronze medal in the -74kg division at the 2023 World Taekwondo Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan.
It was Australia's first men's world championships medal for nearly 25 years and the country's first in any event since Carmen Marton won gold in the women's under-62kg in 2013.
And his progress through the tournament included wins over Spain’s world number one and defending champion Daniel Quesada Barrera and highly credentialled Uzbek Jasurbek Jaysunov. His tournament only came to an end when he lost to eventual gold medallist Marko Golubic of Croatia in the semi-finals.
"It feels surreal," Leon said at the time. "It's finally starting to sink in.
"I was going through highs and lows throughout the day, trying to recompose myself to go into each fight.
"Now I can sit back and look at the day as a whole, and with a fresh perspective I'm super happy."
Leon, who grew up in Melbourne, first stepped onto a taekwondo mat shortly after he learned to walk.
As a youngster, he was coached at Maribyrnong Sports Academy by 2008 Olympian Ryan Carneli.
Between the ages of 13 and 16, he won a series of national junior titles and claimed a gold medal at the 2018 Oceania Championships.
Leon stepped up to senior level as a 17-year-old in 2019 and had a breakthrough year, winning gold at the Oceania Championships, the Pacific Games and the Croatian Open. After these results, he earned a Victorian Institute of Sport scholarship and was brought into the Combat Institute of Australia’s National Performance Centre program for Taekwondo.
He was ranked no.6 in the world when COVID-19 brought an end to international taekwondo competition in 2020.
But he was back in action in 2022, making it to the round of 16 at the world championships and picking up gold medals at the Oceania Championships and the Tahiti Open.
After his bronze at the 2023 world championships, Leon continued his good form, winning gold at the prestigious Korean Open.
Leon, who is studying for a degree in sport and exercise science at Victoria University, was awarded a tier 2 scholarship in the 2024 Sport Australia Hall of Fame Scholarship and Mentoring Program.
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