ACCOMPLISHED young star Mackenzie Macdonald is heading to the Youth Olympic Games at the end of the month, representing Australia in taekwondo.
The 16-year-old is already one of the country’s most accomplished young taekwondo athletes as a ten-time national champion, 15-time international medallist and now three-time Team Australia representative at World Championship events.
Ranked number one nationally, she placed ninth at the world championships in 2026 and is recognised as a Tier 1 High Performance Athlete.
Additionally, she was named Australian Taekwondo’s female junior athlete of the year.
Mackenzie started the sport as a six-year-old at Hall’s Taekwondo before first sparring two years later.
She’s won medals in countries all around the world, from Belgium to Uzbekistan, but simply couldn’t have done it without relentless hard work.
In an Instagram post, Hall’s Taekwondo said: “Behind those results are years of commitment – training five to six days a week, technical development, strength and conditioning, national camps, international tours and countless hours on the mats”.
In its letter to the Macdonald family, the Australian Olympic Committee also recognised the hard work she had put in: “Selection to represent Australia at a Youth Olympic Games is a significant achievement and one you should be extremely proud of. Your selection reflects the hard work, commitment, resilience and determination you have shown throughout your journey to this point.”
Everyone at The Review wishes Mackenzie the very best for the Youth Olympic Games, which will be held in Senegal, starting on October 31.
