16 minute read
Becoming unstoppable
Taekwondo prodigy AALIYAH POWELL has dreamt of winning Olympic gold since childhood. Now aged 20, and one of the world’s most accomplished fighters, she’s ready to achieve it
Words: Mark Lomas
Photography: Jane Stockdale
In an industrial corner of East Manchester, a mere stone’s throw from the factory immortalised in LS Lowry’s 1943 painting Going to Work, a conveyor belt of taekwondo talent has been successfully turning out Olympians for more than a decade. Ten Acres Lane Sports Complex is the home of GB Taekwondo, and just as Lowry’s famous matchstick figures funnelled through the factory doors day after gruelling day, here aspiring and accomplished athletes alike enter this unassuming building braced for a relentless regimen.
The first challenge comes in the car park. From a nearby bread wholesaler, the aroma of freshly baked dough wafts invitingly around those who pass through, providing a daily test of temptation on the short walk towards the entrance. Inside GB Taekwondo, however, it’s the smell of sweat that hangs heavy in the air. It permeates every corner of the main training hall, a constant reminder of the levels of sinewstraining and raw desire required to reach the top of this sport. Practitioners of the Korean martial art deploy punches and often acrobatic kicks at lightning-quick speeds, withdrawing and blocking with equal dexterity. This room is full of fighters and of expectation, their hunger firmly directed towards Paris 2024 and a shot at Olympic glory.
In the middle of the hall, effortlessly landing a series of high kicks on her coach, is Aaliyah Powell. A few minutes later, fresh from her session and still sporting a blue chest guard, Powell succinctly outlines her plan.
“The big one is next year,” she says. “Paris Olympics. Gold medal. Period.”
Powell doesn’t waste words. She’s just 20 years old, but each time she speaks it’s with purpose. Her approach as a fighter reflects this; nothing feels rushed, every move is considered. As a teenager Powell was identified as a future Olympian. And for five years she’s lived away from her family home in Huddersfield, around an hour’s drive away, with taekwondo and its punishing training schedule at the centre of her universe. It has bred an independence and understanding of self that’s unusual at an age when friends and peers are still discovering their identity amid the throes of university life or early careers.
“I think when everyone gets to late teens, they start thinking, ‘Actually, who am I? Who do I want to be?’ When you’re younger, you often let other people tell you what’s best for you and who you should be, even though I’ve always been kind of stubborn and tried to push back. But I used to think a lot about the expectations that other people had on me, and I let that affect me.
“Now I’m older and kind of wiser – maybe – I’ve realised that it doesn’t really matter what they think; it’s about my expectations of myself.”
Powell first tried taekwondo as a young child of parents who firmly encouraged sporting participation. But she initially dismissed it in search of other sporting interests; swimming, dancing, tennis and athletics. Then a temporary return to taekwondo at the age of nine stuck. Powell quickly became a precocious fighter, winning gold at 2018 World Taekwondo Junior Championships in Hammamet, Tunisia. Then, a year later, her burgeoning reputation was cemented. Her father secretly signed her up to her first-ever senior event, deciding that the World Taekwondo Championships in Manchester represented a fitting baptism of fire. After initially refusing the invitation, Powell flourished on the big stage, claiming a surprise bronze medal as a 16-year-old.
“At the Junior Worlds, I had that giddy, shocked feeling after winning gold that I’ll never forget. But after the senior World Championships, things became more serious because it started to be more about making a career out of taekwondo. Before that, I did taekwondo because I liked doing it and used to get to go to other countries and miss school to compete. Then, after the senior World Championships, I was invited to come full time, and there were more options presented to me for what my life could look like in the future.”
The 2019 World Championships kickstarted her journey towards the Olympics, but that path has been far from straightforward. Powell was named after tragic R&B star Aaliyah, whose untimely death in a plane crash at the age of 22 occurred a year before her birth. Among the American’s acclaimed back catalogue, much admired by Powell’s mum, is the Grammy award-winning song Try Again. Its lyrics call for personal resilience and speak directly to the recent experiences of Britain’s rising taekwondo star. After two years of injuries – she tore her knee ligaments and then ruptured her meniscus in 2019, needing surgery twice – Powell knows all too well the importance of being resilient.
“Very early in my career I’ve had to deal with the mental battles of being injured, and with the frustrations of not feeling – or physically being – how I was before,” she explains.
A combination of rehab and the COVID pandemic meant that for almost two years Powell didn’t compete. It represented a challenging period for the then-teenager, who missed out on valuable tournament experience at what should have been a key stage of her development.
“Some days it was just terrible,” Powell recalls. “It’s hard to be positive every day, and at that time I questioned whether I’d even be able to do taekwondo again. I had to reteach myself how to kick at a basic level. I felt like I was literally a white belt starting taekwondo from the beginning again.
“I had those doubts of, ‘Am I ever going to get back to where I was before?’ There’s so much emotion. Along the way, you just need to have little goals in rehab that you can achieve, and friends and family are also really important to help you not slip into a rut. Being able to focus on the end goal has helped me the most; I had to keep reminding myself that the goal doesn’t change, it’s just how you get there has changed a little bit.”
Steely determination: Powell, photographed in Manchester for The Red Bulletin in March this year
After almost two years in the wilderness, Powell claimed her second World Championship bronze of her career in Guadalajara, Mexico, last November. Among the smiles and sombreros – thrust into the hands of all the medallists – was a feeling that she was once again on an upward trajectory. Powell now has a chance to go a step further in May when the 2023 World Championship is held in Baku, Azerbaijan.
“[The 2022 medal win] was an indicator that we’re in the mix with everyone, but honestly it’s not what I want,” she says. “Bronze isn’t what any of us get out of bed for. I think my mentality has changed. I’ve realised that you can have all the ability in the world, you can kick perfectly and you can be aggressive, but mentally, if you’re not in control of yourself and your emotions, you can only get so far.”
This is an opinion supported by Powell’s coach of three-and-a-half years, 2014 European Taekwondo Championships silver medallist Torann Maizeroi.
“For Aaliyah, the obstacle is herself,” Maizeroi says. “She’s so gifted, but I don’t think she knows just how good she is. In sport, the faith must come first. You’re so often training for something you haven’t achieved yet. I have that faith, and [now] she’s starting to see it. The more she fights, the more she sees, ‘Shit, I can do it.’ I think she’s very close to smashing through this glass ceiling of her own belief. And when she makes it through that, she can really achieve anything.”
The state-of-the-art training facility here in Manchester has been credited for helping to make taekwondo one of Britain’s most successful Olympic sports in terms of medal success in recent years. Competition is stiff, meaning even making it to the Olympics to represent Team GB is a huge undertaking. And standing in the way of Powell’s Olympic ambitions is an obstacle that would have once seemed insurmountable. Jade Jones has been the face of GB Taekwondo since claiming Britain’s first Olympic gold in the sport as a 19-year-old at London 2012 12 years after taekwondo was included at the Games. She followed this with a successful gold-medal defence at Rio 2016, but a shock first-bout defeat at Tokyo 2020 to unheralded Iranian Kimia Alizadeh Zonouzi saw Jones’ mask of invincibility slip.
The OBE-awarded Olympian is now 30, and, with Powell 10 years her junior, the stage is set for a fascinating battle for sporting supremacy. It would make for a particularly compelling Olympic contest, but participation rules dictate that a clash between the two in Paris will never happen. There’s just one British spot available in the -57kg weight class, which means a straight shootout between Jones and Powell over the next year, with both vying for vital qualification points. “Most people who now do taekwondo watched that moment [Jones’ London 2012 gold],” Powell says. “It was a big one for the sport in this country. When I was a kid I used to go to seminars she did, and I’d have photos taken with her medals. That’s what I wanted for myself, and that’s what I still want. I hope that next year, with the right work, that’s what’ll happen.”
“I enjoy having control over my own narrative”
When I was a kid I used to go to seminars she did, and I’d have photos taken with her medals. That’s what I wanted for myself, and that’s what I still want. I hope that next year, with the right work, that’s what’ll happen.”
music helps Powell relax when preparing to compete the sport in this country.
She’s no dummy: some sparring partners don’t hit back
A trawl of the Olympics’ digital archives brings up a video of Powell as a 15-year-old, with the title Heroes of the Future. In it, she talks about wanting to perform better in training to impress Jones, who in turn lauds the teenager’s “star qualities that could be good for the future”. Those words have proven prescient, and now Powell’s role model is her main adversary.
“I’ve taken a lot of inspiration from her journey, and now we’re competitors,” Powell says. “She’s helped me a lot. It’s not a rivalry, but we both do our best so we can both get better. Of course, it’s more competitive as it gets close to the Olympics and we’re doing our own thing a lot more, but in the sessions when we’re together we’re driving each other to be the best.”
The pair have sparred many times in practice at GB Taekwondo, but have fought just once competitively, with Jones narrowly beating Powell at an event in Sweden last year. They might not actually go head-to-head again before Paris, as Powell prefers to compete in the -62kg weight class, which exists in regular taekwondo competition but not as an Olympic category.
Still, the pair now increasingly train separately, and the showdown for Team GB’s sole Olympic spot feels a bit like the elephant in the ring in Manchester. It seems inevitable that tensions will rise as both world-class athletes near the moment when one will fail to make it to Paris, though Powell thinks otherwise. “It’s always been on the table, since I first started, that we’d be in the same Olympic category, but there has never been a conflict. [Jones has] always offered advice and tried to help me when I’ve asked for it. Ultimately, we both have respect for each other and there’s no clash there. We’re teammates and will keep that relationship going – I respect her and don’t want to change who I am, or act differently.”
Guiding force: Torann Maizeroi (right), her coach of three-and-ahalf years, believes Powell’s only obstacle in taekwondo is herself
The narrative remains a gripping one from the outside, where it appears that Powell’s role is that of underdog to Jones’ favourite. But, after a moment’s contemplation, the 20-year-old challenges that assumption.
“People who have watched [Jones] for all these years may say there’s more pressure on her; she has more to lose,” Powell says. “But for me it’s about the expectation I have for myself. I don’t see myself as less than her, or an underdog, because ability-wise I’m just as good as her. I can’t control the expectations of other people, but I can focus on the things I can control. If I focus too much on what she’s doing, I’m not going to get the best out of myself, so I just want to focus on my own journey.”
After a morning of technical training, Powell moves on to strength and conditioning work in GB Taekwondo’s sprawling fitness centre. On one side of the hall, a group of athletes are going hell for leather on spin bikes. Hunting down PBs, each time is meticulously recorded on a spreadsheet projected for all to see on the big screen as officials scrutinise the incremental gains and losses. On the other side of the gym, accompanied by a single conditioning coach, Powell unhurriedly makes her way around a series of weights stations.
A playlist titled ‘’90s House Party’ blares out of the gym’s speakers, but Powell is none the wiser, firmly cocooned in her own headphones, in her own headspace; she’d much rather listen to Tupac than N-Trance. Throughout the day, she can be spotted humming along to songs, sometimes mouthing lyrics, other times dancing. Music has become an essential part of her training regime.
Certain competitions have been punctuated by specific songs, and she immediately makes the association between her gold-medal-winning trip to the 2018 World Taekwondo Junior Championships, Playboi Carti’s Magnolia and Lil Uzi Vert’s XO Tour Llif3. Her playlists tend towards individual anthems rather than albums, representing a remarkably eclectic taste that ranges from old-school R&B to reggae, Billie Eilish to Rihanna. And, of course, there’s a bit of Aaliyah. “Some people use music to get themselves pumped up and ready to fight, Powell says, “but for me it is always about relaxing. I’m better in competition when I feel relaxed. That’s how I perform the best.”
Relaxation isn’t something that instantly comes to mind when watching the high-energy, close-quarters combat sport of taekwondo. Competitors are rewarded for landing blows – via kick or punch – to various parts of their opponent’s body within the confines of an octagon 8m in diameter, with kicks that connect with the head scoring highest. These battles are fast and skilful. But Powell’s natural ability and athleticism make complex moves look easy as she calmly completes her training session.
Beneath this veil of serenity, there’s an undeniable steeliness. Powell’s approach – an outwardly laid-back demeanour coupled with significant technical prowess – matches that of one of her heroes, Jamaican sprint icon Usain Bolt. Powell was born in Huddersfield, but she’s proud of her Jamaican roots; she loves her grandmother’s Caribbean cooking, and when it comes to athletes it’s Bolt who stands above the rest.
“You can’t compare [Bolt] to anyone else,” Powell says. “It’s not just his achievements, but him as a person, too. His name stands for more than just sporting achievement, and he has always been real, letting his personality shine through.”
This admiration for authenticity is mirrored in Powell’s carefully curated social media output. Like many young sportswomen she understands the power that social media can have as an extension of herself.
“I enjoy having control over my own narrative,” Powell says. “I know I could be more active on social media but I don’t want to put things out there that aren’t me. I want it to be a realistic view of who I am and what my life is. You can be influenced a lot when you’re younger and my hope is that people from all sorts of communities see someone that looks like them who is reaching for excellence and showing really positive life choices.”
When she walks away from training, through that haze of sourdough, she’s able to leave taekwondo behind, instead focusing on episodes of Grey’s Anatomy on Netflix, trips to the cinema, babysitting nephews and nieces, and conversations with friends outside her taekwondo circle. But she remains conscious of her sporting position beyond training and competition. “I definitely feel a responsibility as a young, Black female athlete,” she explains, “because you really have the opportunity to inspire people. As athletes we often have to be quite selfish, because we’re driven, we’re trying to achieve a goal and constantly grafting for results. But we also need to take a step back and look at where we are, a privileged position that most people aren’t close to getting.
“When I retire, I want to look back and think I made an impact beyond my performances in competition and my medals. I also want to think about the cool stuff I’ve done. I want to be proud of how I developed as a person and how my passions developed. And hopefully I can help other people recognise their own passions and talents, too.”
Powell seems destined to be another celebrated product of GB Taekwondo’s Manchester medal factory, but the only thing identikit about her is a shared hunger for Olympic success. She expects her road to Paris to be paved with gold. “I’m driving my career and in control of it,” she says as she finishes another tough day of training. “I feel more sure than ever of what I need and who I am.”
But, even if that road to the Olympics is tinged with disappointment, expect Aaliyah Powell to simply dust herself off and try again.
