Get to Know: Skylar Park

For Skylar Park, family is a big part of success. Her father is her coach, her brothers are competing to get into the Olympics, and in total 16 members of her family have black belts in taekwondo. Her family’s generational commitments to the sport are part of what has made Skylar’s achievements in taekwondo so special. We chatted with the 2023 Pan American Games champion about the upcoming Paris Olympics, mentoring young athletes, gender equality in taekwondo, and what it’s like to get your period right before a gold medal match. Let’s get to know her.   

Are there any moments you've experienced while competing that have felt especially significant to you? Things that you look back on as either lessons or turning points?

There have been so many. There have been times when I've won that boosted my confidence. I've also had some really big losses that have taught me so much and allowed me to come back even stronger. In 2016 I won the Junior World Championships on home soil. My whole family was in the crowd. It was super special. It was the first time that I competed on the world stage and I was just so excited to show the world what I could do. I'd been doing taekwondo since I could walk, mainly with my family. My dad's my coach, and I train with my brothers and cousins. So I felt like I was just coming out of nowhere and trying to shock everyone and see what I could do. That was a very special feeling. 

Another big turning point in my career was the Tokyo Olympics. For as long as I can remember, I’ve dreamed of going to the Olympics and winning a gold medal for Canada. I was so excited for my first Olympic Games, but I didn't end up performing as well as I wanted to. There was a lot of heartbreak that went along with that. But the lessons I learned through that experience have allowed me to become very successful leading up to the Paris Olympics. So it's been really exciting.

Can you tell us a little bit about what you're most excited about for the upcoming Olympics?

Yeah, I have now officially qualified for the Paris Olympics. I think I'm just excited to be back in the Olympics in such a special place. It’s something that I've dreamed of for so long. I did it in Tokyo, but it wasn't quite a normal Olympics per se. There were no fans and my family couldn't be there.

I know I've worked hard since Tokyo, and so to be in Paris as a stronger athlete, a more confident athlete, and to have my whole family there will be really exciting.

Has sport helped you affirm or realize any aspects of your personality or identity?

Taekwondo is a sport but also a martial art, and I think there are so many aspects of confidence, discipline, and respect grounded in its principles. As a woman, I’ve been able to gain so much confidence through a combat sport. You learn how to defend yourself.  

Sport is such a powerful tool, especially for young people. There’s the determination you get, the ability to work hard, to work with others. There are so many things that sport brings to us as athletes and as people, and I think that's why I love taekwondo so much. When I was young I was very shy. At taekwondo schools there would always be an awards banquet and a dance afterwards. Everyone would always be dancing and trying to get me to dance but I was too shy. But then, when I was seven years old, the night that I achieved my black belt at this awards banquet, I was on the dance floor all night and they basically haven't been able to get me off the dance floor since then.

As a woman, I’ve been able to gain so much confidence through a combat sport. You learn how to defend yourself.

Why do you think it's important for women and girls to stay in sports?

I'm very passionate about young girls staying in sports. Sport has given me so much in my life. 

I now have the ability and the honour to coach young girls in taekwondo. On a daily basis, I see what sport brings them—how much confidence it gives them, and how many tools they learn from it and bring into their everyday lives. Seeing that transformation in them, the same transformation that I went through as a young girl, is really special.

I'm very passionate about young girls staying in sports. On a daily basis, I see what sport brings them—how much confidence it gives them, and how many tools they learn from it and bring into their everyday lives.

Can you share a bit more about your experience mentoring young women in taekwondo? 

Yeah, I think it's been an honour for me to have the opportunity to coach so many young girls and young women, in the sport that I love. I'm 24, and so having that experience of having gone to an Olympic Games and competed internationally for a long time, there are so many lessons that I can teach them. One of the biggest things is just showing them the confidence they have within and teaching them how to bring it out and carry it into everything they do in their lives. 

It’s also important to remind them that not everything is as perfect as it seems and things don't go smoothly all the time. I think as young athletes or as young people, we think that the road to success is always a straight line and everything's going to go according to plan perfectly. But they need to understand that things don't always go your way. Sharing some of the setbacks that I’ve had with these young women, how I've overcome them, and how they've made me stronger in the end is very beneficial. And hopefully, I'm helping them get through their hard times and come out stronger.

What's it like competing at a high level when you're dealing with everyday things like getting your period?

Getting your period while competing is something that isn't talked about enough at all. I competed at the Grand Prix in Taiwan in September of last year and it was my first time winning a Grand Prix, so it was super exciting. But in between the semifinal and final match, I got my period. My stomach was cramping so bad.

And I think on the broadcast, even here, when I go back in between the rounds to talk to my dad, I'm like, “My stomach hurts so bad.” I'm trying to tell him and he's like, “You’re fine, you’re fine. Like, you can do it.” I ended up finishing the match and winning the semifinal. And so I had to go up right away again to compete in the final.

So they wanted to keep me in the holding area downstairs. But I was like, no, like I have to go upstairs to see my doctor. And so they finally let me through and I went with my doctor. And so she had me lying on the ground. I think I had like 5 minutes. And so I was lying on the ground while she had my feet up in the air and was putting ice straight on my stomach. So I was freezing. Then she gave me Tylenol or something to help with the pain. And then she was like massaging, pushing on my stomach. I don't know what she was doing, but it was chaotic and she kept telling me to eat crackers.

So, we had 5 minutes to figure it out. And then they called me up, and I had to be ready to fight. I was in so much pain, which, to be honest, might have helped a little bit because I wasn't even thinking about being in the final of the Grand Prix.

But as soon as I stepped on the mat, I was able to kind of fight through the pain of my cramps. I think that’s something a lot of female athletes go through, and it isn’t talked about a lot. 

Getting your period while competing is something that isn't talked about enough at all.

Can you talk about the history that this sport has in your family?

My parents run a taekwondo school in Winnipeg, which is where my whole family lives. My dad started taekwondo in Korea, which is where he was born. His family immigrated to Canada when he was eight years old and so they lived there and still live there today. In 1993, my dad, alongside my grandpa, opened up the doors to the Town Park Academy, which is our taekwondo school. And so my whole family grew up there. My mom started training there, and that's where she met my dad. They got married and started running the school together. So, yeah, there are 16 black belts in my family, and nine of us are women. It's super cool and very empowering to have strong female role models in my life who are black belts too. We all get to share this sport we love so much together.

It's super cool and very empowering to have strong female role models in my life who are black belts too. We all get to share this sport we love so much together.

Your father is your coach and your brothers are also competing in taekwondo. Does having so many family members competing in the same sport complicate things? Or is it a source of comfort to have them there with you?

It truly is incredible to be on this journey alongside my dad as our coach and my two younger brothers. But there are challenges as well. On the days when training is not going so well, or you have a bad competition, driving back home with your dad and your brothers, the car ride is not the best. And then when you get home, and you're still sitting across the table from each other, it's not the most fun.

Aspects like that make it hard sometimes. And being a 24-year-old girl and spending this much time with your dad isn’t typical. But I'm so grateful for the time we spend together, what we've been able to achieve together, and what we're still striving to achieve.

How does gender equality show up in taekwondo? 

I think we're very fortunate in the sport of taekwondo because it is very equal, whether you're male or female. The prize money is the same. The opportunities are the same. The competitions are the same. A lot of times if you ask people, they’ll say the women are more exciting to watch than the men. I hope to be one of those women who are exciting to watch.

How does it feel to be the first person in your family to go to the Olympics? 

It's an honour. It's been a dream in my family for a really long time. My grandpa had a dream to go to the Olympics in cycling. Although nobody knows where that comes from because he didn't even cycle.

My dad was a speedskater, but taekwondo has been in my family for at least four generations. I'm the first to go to the Olympics, but hopefully not the last. My brothers are coming up as well, and the goal is for all three of us to be there one day.

To become an Olympic athlete requires a ton of work and dedication. Is there anything you’ve had to let go of in exchange for your pursuit of this dream?

You know, I think as athletes, we all sacrificed so much to be able to compete at the top of our sport and hopefully step on top of the podium. There are times when you miss events or things with your family or friends. There are things you miss out on daily. But if you have a goal and a dream to achieve something great, there have to be sacrifices that come along with it. And if your dreams are that strong, then I think it'll be worth it in the end. 

If you have a goal and a dream to achieve something great, there have to be sacrifices that come along with it. And if your dreams are that strong, then I think it'll be worth it in the end.

 By: Carter Selinger