Leon Sejranovic is a Taekwondo Athlete who was awarded a Tier 2 Scholarship within the 2024 Sport Australia Hall of Fame Scholarship & Mentoring Program.
Leon was born in Melbourne, Australia, and began training Taekwondo at the very young age of three. After many years of training, in 2015 Leon was accepted into Maribyrnong Sports Academy where he was coached by 2008 Olympian Ryan Carneli. During Leon’s first year training at the Academy he began training Olympic style Taekwondo, and joined Fighting Lyons for a year before moving to his current club, Notorious Martial Arts.
Leon’s transition into Olympic style Taekwondo went very well as he won gold at the State Championships and Silver at the National Team selection event narrowly missing out on a spot on the national team after just one year of competing.
From the age of 13 to 16 Leon won multiple National Championships as well as winning gold at the 2018 Oceania Championships. It was evident that Leon was full of potential and had a bright future in the sport, however he was still yet to compete at a World Championships due to factors outside of his control, so he still hadn’t had the chance to truly test himself at the highest level in his age group.
2019 was a breakthrough year for Leon however as he fought in the seniors division at 17 years of age and took out gold medals at the Oceania Championships, Pacific Games and the Croatian Open. With these results Leon earned a VIS scholarship and was also invited to become a part of the National Performance Centre where Australia’s best senior Taekwondo athletes all train together in a centralised program.
Leon had a strong start to 2020, winning bronze at the Dutch Open, however, the COVID-19 pandemic put a big halt on all competitions for the next two years which was a major setback for Leon, who after only competing as a senior for just over a year was ranked World Number 6.
Although Europeans were fortunate enough to be able compete during 2021, 2022 was Australia’s return to the international circuit and Leon made another strong start to the year winning a bronze medal at the Belgium open. Leon then proceeded to win the National Team Selections and earn his first ever spot on a World Championship team. At the World Championships Leon won his first two fights before losing in the round of 16 against the eventual gold medallist and World Champion. Leon finished the year strongly winning gold medals at the Oceania Championships and the Tahiti Open as well as qualifying for his first ever Grand Prix Finals which is an invite only tournament for only the top 16 fighters in each Olympic weight division.
2023 has been another breakthrough year for Leon. After securing his spot on the National Team once again, Leon managed to win a bronze medal at the World Championships. This medal was historic as it was Australia’s first World Championship medal in 10 years. Leon has continued the year in great form and has also taken out gold medals at the Kimunyong Cup as well as the Korean Open which is widely regarded as one of the hardest, if not the hardest, open tournament on the circuit.
Leon is currently studying a Bachelors Degree in Sport and Exercise Science at Victoria University, working as an assistant coach at Maribyrnong Sports Academy and Notorious Martial Arts whilst training full time out of the National Performance Centre.
“It is a great honour and privilege to receive this incredible scholarship. I’m honoured to have my name in the company of all the great athletes both past and present who have also received this scholarship. this Scholarship will allow me to have the best possible opportunities and resources to focus on my training leading into the 2024 Olympic Games” – Leon Sejranovic on being selected as a 2024 Tier 2 Scholarship Holder
Honours & Achievements
- 2023 Korean Open – Gold Medal
- 2023 World Championships – Bronze Medal
- 2022 Oceania Championships – Gold Medal
- 2019 Croation Open – Gold Medal
- 2019 Pacific Games – Gold Medal
Social Links | Instagram @leonsejranovic
