Errin Cann made history for Bermuda winning the country’s first Wushu Taolu (forms) Medal at the 13th Pan American Wushu Championships in Brasilia, Brazil.
Cann’s score of 8.250 in Female Group C (11 & under) Jianshu (straight sword) was good enough to capture second place and the Silver Medal. USA’s Sabrina Ding captured the Gold and Chile’s Sara Bruno rounded out the podium spots.
Cann’s also competed in Changquan (longfist) where she finished 12th. The medal-winning performance followed the Gold and Silver Medal’s she also won at the Phoenix Wushu Nationals in December last year.
Earlier this year Cann was awarded a Bermuda Government Sports Junior Achievement Award for her accomplishments in the sport of Wushu.
On the first day of the competition, Bermuda’s veteran martial artist competitor Kaelin Cox placed 8th in Men’s Optional Nanquan (southern fist). This was Cox’s first time competing in modern Wushu and made a very strong showing for his first time.
Cox made his debut at the 12th version of the championships in Argentina back in 2018 in San Da (Chinese Kickboxing), the discipline where Bermuda has built its reputation in the sport and has held a number of champions.
The first group of the 9-person Bermuda contingent arrived in Brazil for the start of the Judges Training Courses. Oscar Lightbourne, Technical Director of the Bermuda Team and member of the Pan American Wushu Federation (PAWF) Technical Committee formed part of the committee that conducted the intense 4 days of training.
The courses produced three newly qualified Bermuda Judges – Dueane Cox, Chaquita Simmons and Nolette Webb, who all passed the final exam and served as san da judges during the championships while Lightbourne served on the arbitration panel.
Bermuda Youth Taolu Coach Jecoa Burrows and Shampagne Cann also accompanied Bermuda’s medal winner to Brazil after spending 2 weeks at Elite Kung Fu in Fremont, California for final competition preparation with Wushu development coaches Stephanie Lim and Nathan Andrus-Hughes.
Adriano Lourenco da Silva of Brazil, who spent 3 months in Bermuda back in 2020 to kick off Bermuda’s Taolu program accompanied the team as Adult Taolu Coach for Kaelin Cox.
