Páraic Kelly ’26 Tops British Taekwondo Open

At just 16 years old, Xaverian junior Páraic Kelly has his eyes set on national and Olympic Taekwondo competitions. A Korean martial art, Taekwondo combines powerful kicks, fast strikes, and fluid footwork in sparring competitions, which Páraic excels in. Points are scored by the quality and number of strikes landed on one's opponent. He trains with CW Taekwondo in Boston, a club known for producing national team members. Páraic’s ultimate goal is to compete in the Olympics, and he’s working to prove that he has what it takes to get there.

It requires both physical and mental strength to compete at Paraic's level, and his training accounts for both. With regular one-on-one private training sessions, weekly team practices, and additional weight training in between, there's little time to rest. In the past year, he has competed in the U.S. High School Championship, the U.S. Open, the British Open (Kyorugi 2025), and most recently, the 2025 NCTA National Collegiate and High School Championships. Páraic has walked away from his last two competitions with first-place finishes in the -73 kg junior division, and while these wins are impressive, one of his proudest moments may seem a bit surprising. It was a semi-final match in the U.S. Open and he lost the first round by one point, before almost being knocked out by a jarring blow in the second. What he later discovered was that the 6’6” athlete he was up against was the Asian Youth Continental Champion. Páraic says regardless of the final standings, he was proud of himself for stepping up to such a challenging competitor. “I got more points on him than anyone else in the competition,” he says, “and that made me happy.”

Páraic’s early success has fueled big dreams, but for now he is focused on building international experience through open tournaments. To compete at these high-level competitions, one needs to be sponsored by a national team, and his sights are set on Ireland. “Being selected for the Irish National Team would mean a lot to me and my family,” he says. “I was born in Ireland and would love to represent my country on a world stage.” Qualifying for the Irish team could put him on the path for Olympic qualification. For Páraic though, success is about more than making a team or winning a title. “Success to me means that a person is happy with their life and has no regrets,” he says. “As long as I can say I did the best I could, I'm satisfied.”