On the road to the Olympics

Two young sisters from Anselmo recently got the opportunity of a lifetime thanks to hard work
and dedication in a sport they both love. Natália Gonzales, 14 and her sister Nalani Gonzales,
12, have been Taekwondo athletes since they were toddlers. The pair call the Mayerthorpe and
Whitecourt dojangs their home base and have spent countless hours training, practicing,
learning, and excelling. They have also worked with several different leaders in the sport.
One of those is Master Sayed Najem, a Canadian Olympic medalist from the 1992 Barcelona
Olympics, where he won silver in the bantamweight division. Taekwondo was still a
demonstration sport that year and officially joined the Olympic arsenal in 2000. Master Najem
has also won Pan-Am Gold and several Canadian titles.
Master Najem has held seminars and training events around the province over the years and
has watched the girls grow in their abilities. At his request, Natália Gonzales joined him to help
with his recent demonstrations. Both girls have trained with him during his past visits and
consider him family. This year, though, the conversation changed. Master Najem said he saw
Olympic potential in the girls and wanted to help guide them.
“I was honoured to be told that by an Olympic medalist and someone that still has a passion for
the sport and is still up to date with it,” explained Natália. For Nalani, her excitement came
through as only a little sister could. “I was very excited, knowing that I could get a lot better and
potentially beat my sister because that’s one of my goals,” she laughed.
Master Najem currently lives in California, but with Whitecourt Taekwondo Master Jim Rennie’s
blessing, the Gonzales sisters are now training once a week with Master Thai Le from Spirit
Taekwondo in Edmonton and following a strict training schedule created by their Olympic
medalist coach.
Since Natália is older, Master Najem is focused on getting her to the 2028 Olympics in Los
Angeles. Her schedule involves daily training, including swimming, meditation, running, sprinting
and kicking drills. “From there, we do spar training and drills in Edmonton. In the next few
months, he’s going to see where she’s at and then hopefully get her to train with an Olympic
medalist in Mexico for two weeks to a month,” explained her mom, Antoinette Gonzales.
In the summer, depending on how things are going, Master Najem wants to see them go even
further. “He is setting up a studio in California, and once it’s ready, he plans on bringing Natália
and Nalani down for a month-long daily training visit. Either this summer or next summer,
the girls will be going to South Korea for three months to train at an all-girls university, and he
wants to do the training yearly,” explained Gonzales.
To prepare them and give them lots of experience, Master Najem has the girls attending three
big tournaments early in 2025. The Canada Open and Canadian Nationals are in Montreal in
February, and the US Open will be in Nevada. The girls recently competed in Mexico for the
2024 International Torneo ITOM in Puebla, thanks to an invite by Master Jim Rennie. Both girls
brought back medals, including gold.
When asked if she felt overwhelmed by the path before her, Natália said no. “The more you train
physically, the more mentally prepared you’ll be. In the back of your mind, if you don’t train

physically, you know you won’t do as well as you hope, and that will affect your performance.
But if you train and you put 100 percent effort into it and you still don’t do amazing, then
mentally you know that you gave it your all.”
Natália will be 18 in 2028. “I’m willing to do whatever it takes to get there. I’m focusing on the
Olympics, but I’m also enjoying the journey at the same time. Some people want the end goal
but don’t appreciate the journey and live in it. But I want to do both,” she explained, with wisdom
beyond her years.
For Nalani, the goal is the Olympics in 2032. “I have goals, and once I get to one, I’ll know I’m
getting better, which will drive me to the next goal, making the rest easier. My goals are going to
motivate me,” said the 12-year-old. “Having someone tell you that you can make it there, to the
Olympics, means the world. I’m honestly really excited.”
For their mom, having Master Najem recognize talent in her children has her over the moon.
“I’m thankful that someone is taking them under their wing. As a mom, you want to see your kids
be better than you can and see them reach their dreams. Knowing people out there want to help
them get to that point, I am forever thankful for that.”
Master Najem has built several national champions over the years, guiding them to the podium.
He has also worked in Hollywood, training Hayden Christensen as Anakin Skywalker in Star
Wars II. He also fought alongside Steven Seagal in Attack Force and acted in the Wesley
Snipes movie Hard Luck. He even trained Madonna. Now, he’s training two grateful sisters from
Anselmo with big dreams of reaching the Olympics.
Getting to national and international competitions comes with a hefty cost. “We are holding
bottle drives and have bottles, buttons, t-shirts and pendants for sale. We also have sponsorship tiers
for businesses,” explained Gonzales, who owns a local branding company, ANND Branding.
Those wanting to support them can call 780-779-1086 or email anndbranding@gmail.com. They
are also looking for items for a silent auction held on December 14.
Both girls have already gained a lot since starting the journey. Nalani has gained a best friend in
Edmonton, Master Thai Le’s daughter Avery, whom she sees when she trains there. Natália has
gained a team she didn’t know she needed. Taekwondo is typically an individual sport, but
having a team to attend competitions with is a massive support system neither girl would want
to be without. “I want to thank Mayerthorpe Taekwondo for starting us on this journey, and
Whitecourt Taekwondo for welcoming us into this club with open arms, and Master Rennie.
without him, none of this would be possible. I can’t thank him enough,” said Gonzales.
With a long road ahead, both girls are determined to reach their full potential. “Nothing is
impossible. It’s really about how much you are willing to put into it. I didn’t think it was possible
to get a coach or a team, and it happened. I’m so thankful for them. I didn’t think having an
Olympic medalist saying you’ve got potential was possible. So, if that’s possible, then what else
is possible?”