Athlete Highlight: Jessica Gniedziejko | My Experience at the 2025 Summer World University Games
Athlete highlight:
Jessica Gniedziejko | Taekwondo
9/15/2025 | Jessica Gniedziejko
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK -- I’ve been doing taekwondo for about 12 years. It started as a hobby that my mom put me in to keep me active growing up. It took a lot of discipline and there were moments when I no longer wanted to train. But my mom told me that I would regret it if I stopped, so I kept going.
Roughly five years ago, I began competing nationally and internationally. Since then, I have become a four-time National Taekwondo Champion, two-time USA Collegiate Team Member for various international competitions and a medalist at a few international opens. Last year, I won gold at the FISU America Games in Cali, Colombia. Not only do I train and compete on major stages, I also teach taekwondo to younger generations at United Xtreme Martial Arts, in hopes of inspiring them to love the sport like I do.
I competed in the World Taekwondo Canada Open earlier this year. I am wearing blue and attacking with an axe kick. Picture by Kyle Newsome.
Recently, I competed in the 2025 Summer World University Games in Rhine-Ruhr, Germany. Simply put, it’s like the Olympics for collegiate athletes. The competition features athletes from over 150 countries competing in 18 sports, and has opening and closing ceremonies, an athlete’s village and many more exclusive amenities for the athletes. It’s high-level, and even if you do not receive a medal, it is a great accolade to have participated. I was proud to represent City College and CUNY.
Gearing Up
The opening ceremony was unlike anything I have ever experienced. It was beautiful to see a stadium filled with athletes from all around the world with the same goals of winning. The set list was full of well-known German performers, and athletes had the opportunity to trade pins with athletes from other nations. It was an unforgettable moment.
On each day of the tournament, we had breakfast as a team before heading to the competition venue. When our fellow teammates had morning matches, we went to cheer them on.
Between matches, we spent about an hour training. Around noon, we ate lunch, and if any team members made it to the afternoon and evening semi-finals, we stayed to root for them, too. After competitions finished for the day, we headed back to our hotel, had dinner and hung out.
Competing always makes me reflect on being a “student athlete.” I am doing the sport that I love while also representing my school. It is a huge honor, but it adds extra pressure to the competition.
The night before my matches, I couldn’t fall asleep as early as I normally do because anxiety was eating me up. I called my teammate Kayla, and we talked for a few hours before I felt that I could sleep off the rest of my nerves.
Fighting Strong
The day I competed, I headed straight to the venue after breakfast. I changed into my taekwondo gear and started playing music on my speaker, anything to keep my mind at peace and locked in. My coach held kicking targets for me so I could practice with some kicks, and we started moving around so I could get warm before my first match.
Walking out of the warm-up area into the ring gave me chills. The lights were bright all around and I saw colors of different countries in the stands. The red, white and blue of the U.S. stood out to me, and so did the sound of the chants the audience was yelling.
In the warm-up area before my fight, I tried to relax and focus on my upcoming match.
Winning my first match felt good. I walked away from the ring with a victory, although I knew the job was not done yet. It was just the qualifying round, which started with 20 participants, and I had a long way to go before getting to the finals. Back in the holding area, I did more kicking and tuned out the sound of everything else with more music. I knew my next match would be my toughest one.
I had a disappointing loss in the rounds of 16 against a 2x Olympian Petra Stolbova, who eventually went on to win silver in the tournament. Although I lost, I still feel as though this was the strongest I have ever fought in a tournament. I’m leaving Germany with more hunger and a stronger passion to get better and medal in the next one. I’m also happy that the USA Taekwondo team had a historic result, winning the most medals it has ever won in a single edition of these Games, with 7 total!
I am grateful to everyone who supported me in this tournament. My coach, Master Fabricio Rodriguez, who traveled with me to Germany, was in my corner the whole time. I am also thankful for my mom who supported me from home and is always proud of me. And a final thank you to Team Xtreme for helping me prepare for these Games and always being there for me.
Me and my coach, Master Fabricio Rodriguez, at the opening ceremony.
Getting Recognition, Looking Ahead
After competing in Germany, I competed in team trials for the World Taekwondo Under-21 Championships and landed a spot on the National Team. The event will be between December 3 and 6, and I will be representing the U.S. yet again.
Going forward, I hope that collegiate taekwondo can receive more attention and support. Unfortunately, many U.S. colleges do not recognize taekwondo as a varsity sport, and people often mistake it for karate. It’s not as widely celebrated or acknowledged as other sports like basketball or track and field. Although I won a gold medal at the FISU America games and competed in the Pan-Am Games last year, two major annual international sporting events, many didn’t know that I competed in them until I spread the word.
Most of the funding for this trip to the Summer World University Games came out of pocket, and prior to the competition, I sold homemade baked goods to help raise money. Having more recognition or financial support would go a long way for the future of collegiate taekwondo. Having access to the same resources that sports like football or soccer and their athletes have would change the game for USA taekwondo and boost our international standing.
As I look forward to that, in the meantime I’ll also keep competing and loving every part of taekwondo.
