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Taekwondo - Source: Getty Images
New Zealand has kicked off the first day of the ITF X Junior World and the Senior World Taekwon-Do Championships in Argentina, winning 5 Gold, 3 Silver and 3 Bronze medals.
Aucklander Jeremy Hannah, was the first of the New Zealand team to take out gold winning the Junior Males 3rd Dan Patterns division.
SPARC sponsored Aucklanders Carolina Dillen and Mark Trotter were also in the medals with Dillen winning New Zealand's second gold medal in the Seniors Womens 1st Dan Patterns division..
Trotter secured a Silver medal in the Senior Mens 4th to 6th Dan Patterns division.
The team also struck gold with Chris Broughton from Auckland winning the Senior Mens Ist Dan Patterns division.
Aramai Tahau from Levin won the Junior Mens Individual Speciality competition while the last gold medal for the day was won by the Junior Womens Team in the Team Pattern division.
Wellingtonian Richie Lavin, another SPARC sponsored athlete won bronze in his Senior Males 3rd Dan Patterns division.
Mathew Davey from Auckland claimed silver in the Senior Mens 2nd Dan Patterns division and the last of the silver medals was won by Shane Black from Tauranga in the Junior Mens Speciality division.
Bronze medals were won by both Phillipa Henry from Whangarei in the Junior Womens 1st Degree Patterns division and Melissa Timperley for the Junior Womens Specialty.
The 4 day event has drawn over 800 competitors with large teams from the United States, England, New Zealand, Canada, Australia, Argentina, Germany and Poland.
New Zealand is hosting the ITF Taekwon-Do World Championships in Wellington from the 10th to the 13th of March.
