‘She’s smashing it’: The young taekwondo star with a mighty medal haul

At just nine years old, Seren Price has already built an extraordinary record in competitive taekwondo, securing 21 gold and silver medals in a little over a year. 

Seren, from Aberbargoed, was selected for the Welsh Taekwondo team in late 2024 and recently added to her achievements with a gold medal in Belgium, where she was the youngest of 792 competitors. 

She has been practising taekwondo for more than three years and competes regularly in tournaments across the UK. Among her recent successes was a trip to Newbury in November, where she claimed two silver medals and a gold. 

In competition, Seren takes part in both poomsae and sparring. Poomsae involves performing a sequence of pre‑determined movements, while sparring focuses on controlled combat and self‑defence against an opponent. 

Her commitment to the sport is evident in her demanding routine. She trains for two hours a day at least four times a week and takes part in at least one competition each month. 

Seren’s mother, Stephanie, told Caerphilly Observer: “I have to keep her at home on Wednesdays for her to get her rest. But, if it was up to her, she would go on Wednesdays too.” 

She described her daughter’s schedule as relentless and recalled the unexpected way Seren first discovered the sport. 

“On top of training, when we have her events, they sometimes run on a Saturday and a Sunday. If there is no event for that week, then she has squad training on a Sunday instead. 

“I just remember her doing dance classes for a while, and one time we came out of the class and directly opposite was the taekwondo session. She looked at me and said she wanted to try it. It was a bit of a shock going from dance to taekwondo, but she’s smashing it and is obsessed with it.” 

Stephanie also expressed her gratitude to Bargoed Town Council for helping fund their recent trip to Belgium.  

“Bargoed Town Council gave us £100, which was a real help. We could only fly from London Heathrow, so we had to get a bus from Newport and do it that way. It was a long, long old journey,” she added. 

Seren’s next competition takes place this Sunday, March 15, in Birmingham, before she returns to Newbury on the April 25 and 26 – where she will be aimigng to add even more medals to her growing collection.