Seven local athletes at World Kickboxing Championships
MOUNT FOREST – Seven young athletes from Rise Combat and Fitness are representing Team Canada at the 2026 WAKO World Kickboxing Championships in Italy.
Kennedy Ray, Kieran Romanowski, Weston Dirksen, Thomas Rushton, Bart Llamido, Logan Brookes and Grayson Veitch will compete against the world’s top youth kickboxers Sept. 18 to 27.
The seven athletes earned their places on Team Canada at the 2026 Canadian National Kickboxing Championships. Together, the Rise team brought home three national titles, three silver medals and two bronze medals.
“This is an incredible accomplishment for these athletes, their families and our entire community,” said Rise head coach and owner Dave Reeves.
“When we launched our competitive kickboxing program in 2022, we wanted to give local athletes a pathway to the highest level of the sport. Four years later, seven athletes from our team will walk onto the world stage wearing the maple leaf.”
Rise Combat and Fitness, which has served Mount Forest and area since 2008, provides Taekwondo, kickboxing, MMA and functional fitness programs.
The seven Rise athletes have spent months attending national training camps, cross-training with other clubs and completing an intensive preparation schedule with coach Reeves and coach Marc Beer, who will travel to Italy as a private Team Canada coach.
“We are going to Italy to compete,” Reeves said. “But regardless of what happens on the mats, these young athletes have already shown what discipline, courage and commitment can accomplish. They have made their families, their team and their communities extremely proud.”
The WAKO World Championship will be held in Jesolo Lido, Italy. Supporters at home can follow the competition through KickboxingLive.TV, a livestreaming platform.
