A Jasper martial artist continues to make a name for himself by winning two medals during a tournament last August in Puebla City, Mexico.
As part of Team Canada, Dez-Rohan Godfrey took home gold in taekwondo during the Mexico International Taekwondo Tournament 2024. He also earned silver in WAKO international kickboxing.
“It’s a big, big one because when I was a kid growing up, I always wanted to represent,” Godfrey said. “I’m from Jamaica. I came here in 2006, so I was going to try to represent someone from the country. So, it’s not the Olympics, but it’s a big achievement for me. It’s a dream come true.”
Godfrey has been practicing taekwondo for 25 years and has taught kickboxing and Muay Thai in Jasper as well as taekwondo in Hinton. He started competing in 2018 and has won multiple medals, including gold as a black belt at the Alberta Taekwondo Open in Edmonton last year.
Although his most recent tournament took place in August, Godfrey wanted to wait until Jasper began returning to normal before highlighting his win.
Godfrey, who works at Jasper Park Lodge, was among those evacuated during the wildfire on July 22 and had to move into a hotel. He noted the evacuation interfered with his training.
“So, I went to Mexico with a heavy heart,” he said. “It was tough, but I managed to keep myself together.”
The fight for gold was intense, but he put his best foot forward and came out on top in taekwondo. His kickboxing fight was soon after.
Godfrey is still not fully recovered from injuring his leg in a car accident while returning home from a Whitecourt tournament in 2022. He has been doing physiotherapy, but his training put stress on his knee.
“Coming back from Mexico after my fight, I was kind of limping because it was bothering me, so I’m still trying to give it time to rest properly,” he said.
He noted people of Puebla City were nice and respectful, with some even asking for his autograph and taking pictures with him. He is also looking forward to going back there for training next year.
Despite still recovering, Godfrey is already looking forward to the national championships and Canada Open next year. Godfrey and his taekwondo master had also been planning to open a school in Jasper, but the wildfire has delayed this to September 2025.
“We’re going to encourage everyone to come out because other people who know me know how far I’ve come in my training and what I’ve done,” he said.
Godfrey encouraged people to pursue their dreams, remembering how he used to watch the Olympics on television as a child and imagine representing a country as an athlete.
“You want to make sure that you prepare yourself, so when the opportunity comes, you are ready for it,” he said. “Even though I have an injury – I’m still injured – I was training. I was pushing myself.”
Although Godfrey was mentally broken by the evacuation, he emphasized the importance of perseverance.
“The spirit has to be strong, but if you have a strong spirit, you have to keep pursuing what you want, so that’s what drove me to take this opportunity to go to Mexico,” he said.
