Liberia’s Taekwondo Hero Retires
Liberia’s Taekwondo giant Master Russian Junior Peewee has officially retired from international and local competitions. Master Russian, who pronounced his official resignation on Friday, has however pledged to develop more local martial arts talents to step into his position to uphold the image of Liberia in the sport.
Peewee is the second top sport Athlete Liberia has produced internationally: The first is former FIFA’s 1995 Best Footballer George Weah. Weah resigned formally from professional football in 2005 and has since been in politics, wanting to become President of Liberia.
During his entire career, the ex- Taekwondo title holder won numerous awards, including Africa Third Weight Height Champion, World 2nd Place Holder in Chinese Martial Arts, Africa’s Bronze Medalist and countless local awards.
He spent 20 years of his life training and fighting to lift the image of Liberia in the Martial Arts and Taekwondo sports across the world. “I want to set a pace and environment for the next generation so that it would not experience the rough and difficulty I experienced”, added.
The former international established a Taekwondo Academy at Samuel Kanyon Doe Sports Complex in Paynesville, and has graduated several students from the academy over the years. On November 28, 2011, the academy graduated over 200 students after completion of training in various martial arts disciplines.
The Rush Fitness Academy began full operation in 2007 with many benefiting from the trainings. Master Russian noted that the sport will be taken to schools and communities across the country to expose martial arts to all Liberians both as a sport and fitness exercise.
