PORTLAND, Texas — She is only 9 years old, but soon-to-be Taft fourth-grader Molly Silvas is already dominating the competition in her age division in taekwondo.
Silvas won four medals at the Tiger-Rock Season 38 world championships in San Antonio last weekend, defeating competitors from all over the country.
"I had to block everything out," said Silvas. "There was a bunch of people at the tournament so it was pretty loud, so I had to really concentrate."
Her taekwondo career began when she was 5 at Tiger-Rock Martial Arts in Portland.
"She was really good right from the start," said Tiger-Rock chief instructor Israel Martinez. "I think competition is one of the things that really drives her."
The COVID-19 pandemic put an end to competition last year. Silvas went several months without competing and spent time training every day.
"I was pretty excited when I heard I was going to compete again," she said. "I had to wait a whole year and it feels great."
