The World Cup Gala after the fourth day of competition Friday evening in Benidorm into a celebration of the sport and of the people who make it possible. From 17:00, four senior finals, a new World Record, official speeches and a series of recognitions shared the stage, before the evening closed with a traditional demonstration from Argentina.
A warm welcome
Master Paco Ferrando of Taekwon-Do ITF España, the local organiser of the World Cup 2026, opened the Gala with words of welcome and thanks to the athletes, coaches, umpires, and volunteers who have filled the arena all week. The Mayor of Benidorm, Toni Pérez, then welcomed the World Cup family on behalf of the host city.
Four finals under the Gala lights
Four finals of the adult age category (18-35 years) were saved for the Gala programme:
- Male Dan Sparring 57–63 kg: Kabil Bahaa Talhaoui of the local Asoc. Española TKD-ITF took the first gold of the gala over Adam Tsvick of Taekwon-Do ITF Israeli Center.
- Female Dan Sparring 50–55 kg: Diana Manzhos of the Taekwon-Do ITF Israeli Center won the title, with Mobina Rezai of Bergen TKD taking silver.
- Male 4th–6th Dan Pattern: Sean O’Neil of Performance Taekwon-Do (Canada) won the Tul final against Rodrigo Gozzano of Esponda Sergio (Argentina). It was O’Neil’s second gold of the day, after his sparring title at 69–75 kg.
- Male Dan Sparring up to 57 kg: Finn Martin of ITA Ireland 4 beat Doiel Perez Duran of Asoc. Española TKD-ITF in the final bout of the evening.
World Record attempt
One of the most anticipated moments of the evening was the World Record attempt in Special Technique, introduced, performed and officially verified live in front of the Gala audience. After its introduction in last year’s World Championship in Croatia, this year’s edition was about beating the existing record. In 2025, the World Record was set by Polish Michelle Wendykier for women at 254cm and by Romanian Andrei Chiriac at 291cm. This years attempt started at 1cm more. First the four qualified women ,including Wendykier, tried the new height 255cm but none had a valid attempt. Directly aftert, World Record holder Chiriac, the only out of five men who qualified for the World Record attempt, demanded absolute silence for his try. And with an incredible jump, he reached not only the new World Record height of 292cm but it was also counted as a valid attempt. Thus, Chiriac is the old and new World Record holder – this year with a World Record at 292cm.
Thanks and recognitions
Luis Cervera of the Directorate General for Sport of the Generalitat Valenciana addressed the arena on behalf of the regional government.
ITF President GM Paul Weiler and ITF Secretary General GM Tadeusz Loboda presented the ITF’s acknowledgements to four people who played a key role in bringing the World Cup to Benidorm: Master Paco Ferrando, local organiser for Taekwon-Do ITF España; Master José Luis Diego Bas; GM Juan Ferrando Savall; and Jesús Castellanos, President of the Real Federación Española de Taekwondo (RFET).
Master Paco Ferrando and Jesús Castellanos then presented special recognitions to guests from the wider Taekwondo family: Angelo Cito, President of the Italian Taekwondo Federation, Vice-President of World Taekwondo Europe and World Taekwondo Council Member; Philippe Bouedo, Technical Director of World Taekwondo; Ismael Bernabal, RFET Vice-President; Driss El Hilali, World Taekwondo Vice-President and President of the Royal Moroccan Taekwondo Federation; and José María Pujadas, Secretary General of the RFET. The members of the ITF Board of Directors and the ITF Secretary General were also recognised: GM Paul Weiler, GM Clint Norman, Mst Philip Lear, Sbn Cosmin Oprescu, GM Tadeusz Loboda, Mst Luis Gato-Gato, Mst Niklas Enander, and Sbn Martina Lenhardtova.
The presence of World Taekwondo and RFET leaders alongside the ITF Board at an ITF World Cup was one of the most notable images of the evening.
In the institutional address, RFET President Jesús Castellanos thanked the organisers and congratulated the athletes on a memorable World Cup.
A traditional finale
The Gala ended with a Traditional Pre-Arranged Sparring demonstration preliminarily with techniques of Tong-Il Tul. Tong-Il is the last of ITF’s 24 patterns and represents the Korean reunification idea. It was performed by Sbn Silvio Gamboa and Sbn Rodrigo Gozzano of Argentina, the same two athletes who had earlier won medals in the senior Dan divisions: Gozzano silver in the 4th–6th Dan Pattern final and Gamboa bronze in Male Sparring 81–87 kg. Their performance brought the evening to a close, before the moderator’s final thanks.
World Cup Day 4: Sean O’Neil Doubles Up as the Senior Sparring Finals Light Up Benidorm
