Jessica Gniedziejko proudly holds the American flag as she stands on the first place pedestal next to fellow competitors from different countries at the FISU Pan-American Games 2024. Photo by Kayla Shanahan.
CALI, Columbia, Nov. 10
Seventeen year-old Jessica Gniedziejko, an AD/PR major at the City College of New York (CCNY), won a gold medal in Taekwondo for Team USA at the Pan-American Fédération Internationale Du Sport Universitaire (FISU) games. She represented CCNY and was the only woman on her team to place first. “It was back to back but I think it ended up being 10-8 and I came home with gold,” she said.
Over 1,000 college athletes, from 16 countries, competed in Taekwondo, chess, Judo, swimming, track and field, tennis, volleyball, and table tennis at the games. Gniedziejko, was one of nineteen competitors on her team in the biennial competition. “It made me feel accomplished, [and] it felt good to be the only girl to have been named the champion because it puts me on their pedestal.”
Jessica Gniedziejko walks on the Taekwondo mat for one of her matches wearing her USA uniform.
On the day of the tournament, Gniedziejo came-in first in the semi-finals, but the deciding matches were not as easy. “First round, I lost… It was a little disappointing because I wasn’t really scoring or making the correct adjustments [for my distance] when I was fighting,” she recalls. Between spars, she consulted with her coach for pointers. “Going in I felt more confident and ended up winning that round, it was like 17 to 2,” she said, “That last round was the take home. It was back to back but I think it ended up being 10 to 8, and I came home with gold.”
This is Gniedziejko’s first year at CCNY. She came to college as a junior thanks to graduating from Bard Early College with her Associates Degree. In Cali, she was fortunate enough to have had two familiar faces at the tournament with her. Not only did one of her peers from her gym qualify, the coach that she has trained with since 2019 mentored the team in Colombia. “It definitely made the experience a lot better, closer to home and more comfortable.”
Despite the combative nature of a sport like Taekwondo, Gniedziejko bonded with her competitors at the FISU games. During the week of training in Cali, she was able to get to know the other U.S, teams as well as international teams. “I feel like even though we were competing against each other, we were all still very close,” she said. “I definitely met lots of people that I hope to see in the future.”
Gniedziejko first started Taekwondo roughly ten years ago when her mother encouraged her to try out since there was a gym across from her house in Ridgewood, Queens. Despite some resistance growing up, she persevered and now has her eyes set on becoming a 2028 Olympian. She said, “[My long term goal] is definitely the Olympics – hopefully 2028, since it’s here in the U.S.”
Series: Sports
