Porter Ridge High has many students who have particular talents and success. One of these students is junior Sean Laloan. Laloan is a 4th degree black belt in taekwondo and competes regularly in championships around the world. A few of his accomplishments include winning the World Open Champion title in Mexico, Canada, and Haiti, as well as being a repeat member in several national competing teams. He is also the champion of over a dozen national competitions. His most memorable accomplishment is winning gold at the Junior Pan American Championships in Costa Rica in June 2022, becoming #1 in the western hemisphere and #3 in the world.

Laloan has gone through years of long and difficult training to reach the level that he is at today. When asked what his training was like, he replied, “It was tough, I’ve had to work hard and push through ups and downs. A lot of time and energy was put in to get to the level I'm at now and what I have accomplished. Of course, I still have a lot of improving and learning to do.” 

Taekwondo hardens the body through both attack and defense. This training is extremely difficult both physically and mentally as it involves many movements and discipline. Laloan’s level of discipline and physical capabilities through this extensive training allowed him to achieve all of his accomplishments.

Laloan’s support system helped push him to success and his coaches helped him to reach such a high level. Some of these individuals include his father who is also his coach, his teammates, former US Olympic Team Coach Juan Moreno, and the coach of the current US Olympic Team and World Class Athletes Program in the Army, Coach Terrence Jennings. He has also left home for weeks at a time to attend training camps with high level athletes in taekwondo and other countries’ national teams to participate in. These worldwide experiences and supportive individuals in Laloan’s life helped to shape the competitor that he is today.

Another aspect that fueled him to reach these accomplishments is his passion for taekwondo. Laloan explained that he has never doubted his choice for pursuing it. “I've honestly never wanted to quit. My main motivation is just pure love and joy for what I do. Other big motivators for me to get better are my losses and the opportunities in the future.” 

With his achievements and passion, he plans to continue pursuing Taekwondo by making plans to compete in the 2024, 2028, 2032, and 2036 Olympic Games.

Written by Kate Miller-12th grade student