Valentina has been chosen to represent Australia for the 2024 World Taekwondo Junior Championships. This is her second World Championships, having represented Australia for the 2022 World Taekwondo Cadet Championships.

Valentina commenced Taekwondo as a 6 year old. Back then her parents wanted her to adopt Taekwondo with the aim of helping to boost her confidence and equipping her with all the tools she will need to navigate her future world. There was no expectation that Valentina would not only achieve this goal but also represent her country (twice)!

Valentina's results speak for themselves. From 2021 to the present she has been National Champion. In 2022 she represented Australia in the World Championships. In 2023 she won the Presidents Cup and got Silver in the Australian Open. This year in addition to her re-selection for the World Championships she also won the Canadian Open and got Bronze in the US Open. Amongst all of this are the many State level tournaments she has competed in and won.

Valentina is an extremely hard worker and knows that nothing comes for free. With guidance and mentoring from her coach John Masiello and other Club Leads, she pursues all opportunities to compete in tournaments. This is why she trains many hours per week at her amazing club Forza Taekwondo from early in the morning (prior to School), through to late nights. She does this whilst juggling her schooling at Erindale College where she is part of the Talented Sports Program and amongst other high achieving Students both in the Sporting and Academic arenas.

Valentina is like most other 16 year olds. She loves her social media and hanging out with her friends. She's a big sister to an up and coming fighter (Sabina) who looks up to her as a role model. She continues to keep up to date with latest fashion trends, loves listening to music, and performing well academically. She enjoys school, and has basic language skills in both Italian and Spanish.

Valentina is also part of the PPP (Performance Pathway Program), managed by Australian Taekwondo. Her ongoing invitation to train with the PPP demonstrates belief in her ability amongst her peers, many of whom often comment privately to her parents about how impressed they are with her development.

The primary objective for this project is to continue raising Valentina's profile to fund her expenses. As a Junior who participates all around Australia and Overseas, the limited funding continues to rely on her parents for enabling her to continue this path (throughout the many tournaments she competes in yearly). In getting assistance to cover expenses her prospects will continue to improve, and hence her chance of winning and one day earning an official ranking as a Senior athlete.

Olympic Games participation is a possibility beyond this, but Valentina remains grounded and focused on the present, which is to do the best possible at the 2024 World Junior Championships.

Please refer below for more information. Thank you for your time.

More Information

Social Media - valtkd, forza, erindale

World Ranking

Australian Taekwondo

Former ASF Project