MANITOWOC (NBC 26) — Marissa Kohlbeck won six gold medals at the Taekwondo National Tournament in July.
- Marissa Kohlbeck has done taekwondo since she was a young girl.
- Despite suffering a major injury in 2016, she just won six gold medals at the Taekwondo National Tournament.
- Her student, Miles Gauthier also took home a first place gold medal.
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story)
Manitowoc is home to a national champion. Here’s the story of a Manitowoc woman's long journey to bring home six gold medals.
Marissa Kohlbeck has been doing taekwondo since she was a child.
"I was severely bullied from the time I was in kindergarten until I was in high school,” she said. “I wanted to learn a way to defend myself."
She competed as a youngster and loved the sport so much that she started her own studio in Manitowoc.
"I wanted to find a way to give back to taekwondo because it gave me so much,” she recalled.
As a teacher she continued to compete until 2016, which took a turn.
"I tore my ACL, my MCL, my LCL and my meniscus,” she said.
But she says she didn't want that to stop her.
"That was always my motto in life,” Kohlbeck says. “I'm never going to give up, I'm never going to let anything put me down."
After a long recovery and eventual return to the mats of martial arts, Marissa won six gold medals in July at the Taekwondo National Tournament in Florida.
"I was so proud of myself and what I had done,” said Kohlbeck. “But, it's also just a very humbling experience."
She's now back to teaching at her studio and proud to have represented Manitowoc on the national stage.
"We may be small and we come from a small community but we're still powerful,” Kohlbeck says. “We can be a great studio showing that to other people."
Marissa says one her students, Miles Gauthier, also won a gold medal at nationals. He told me Marissa teaches him much more than just martial art moves.
"Marissa has taught me to be respectful both on and off of the mat,” said Gauthier. “Just always respect your opponents."
