When Justin MacEachern stepped back onto the mat in 2022, he never expected to be a silver medallist at the World Taekwon-do Championship. Not only did Justin achieve something he never thought would be possible, he got to do so alongside his two children who also brought home hardware. The McAdam, N.B., father-son-daughter trio competed at the ICTF Open World Taekwon-do Championship in Toronto at the end of May. Justin took home a silver medal, his son Myles won bronze, and his daughter Triniti took the gold in their respective weight classes for sparring. “I never in my wildest dreams thought that this would happen, let alone bring my kids with me,” admits Justin when reflecting on the Toronto tournament. “Because of my family and my teacher this happened, and I don’t think they really know how much of a big role they were in all of this.” The family trains with Oromocto Taekwon-do in Oromocto, N.B., which is about an hour drive from McAdam. The gym sent two other athletes to the worlds in Toronto, one of whom won gold and the other a silver medal. MacEachern said it’s a dream come true to represent his hometown of McAdam, but also the province and country on the world stage. “I just can’t thank everyone enough,” said MacEachern. “Especially [McAdam] because they’ve always been in on everything we’ve tried to do, and now I just can’t wait to do it again.” He is hoping to do so again at next year’s championships overseas in Paris. While his son Myles will not be joining as he pursues post-secondary education after graduating high school, his daughter Triniti will be ready to defend her world title. The 14-year-old world champion admits the thought of holding that title hasn’t really sunk in yet. “I was trying to keep a low profile about it,” she admits upon returning to classes. “My best friend, she immediately was like, ‘Guys, we got a world champion with us today.’” Older brother Myles came home with a bronze medal, but the story behind his hardware makes the bronze look an awful lot more gold in the eyes of others. One of Myles’ competitors did not have the correct gear entering a match. Rather than take the forfeit win and move straight to the gold medal round, Myles instead elected for a “gentlemen’s agreement” fight where the competitors would avoid certain areas of contact. A loss in that fight earned him the bronze medal. “Technically, I only lost to one guy and that was the world champion, so I think it’s pretty impressive,” Myles laughs. Seeing the selflessness shown by his son in a big match is honourable, believes Justin, and seeing that moment gives him confidence for his son’s next steps post-high school. “It tells me that I can let my son leave my house and I don’t have to worry about him as a man or an individual,” Justin said. He also credits their teacher for his humility. “It just makes you feel you did your job a little bit as a dad, even though we are all kind of out here in left field not knowing what we are doing, but it is a lot of pride.” It’s pride Justin not only has for his children, but shared pride the siblings have for one another, and their father. “I love them so much,” Triniti said, who jokes there are few better ways to bond as a family than to “beat the crap” out of each other. “They have always been there for me, not just with [taekwondo], but for a lot of stuff. It’s nice I got to do this with them too, especially before my brother goes off to college in the fall.” Chief instructor at Oromocto Taekwon-do Murray McAvoy said winning a medal, let alone a gold at any event in sparring, is not an easy task. “I’m amazed in a lot of ways with all our students, particularly though with this family that they were able to accomplish so much,” he said. He is amazed by Justin’s continued growth, as he is poised to take over his role as lead in the future at the Oromocto-based facility. He is also amazed at the big moments show by Justin’s children on the big stage. “Just the integrity really alone of that, and that’s really what our martial art thrives in,” McAvoy said when asked about Myles’ decision to fight fair rather than claim the gold medal round. “It was a big event and it was just phenomenal to see that.” For more New Brunswick news, visit our dedicated provincial page.
