🥉 Axelle Bonnez makes history: bronze at the European Taekwondo Championships

You don’t need to be a sports expert to feel this moment.Ten years, five European Championships, and countless training hours later... she did it. Axelle Bonnez is on the podium.

A bronze medal in Poomsae Taekwondo – a discipline where elegance, explosive strength and technical precision blend into perfection.This wasn’t luck. This was years of dedication.

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"Just showing up as my best self"

This year’s European Championship took place in Tallinn, Estonia – Axelle’s fifth time competing. For the past editions, she consistently made it to the quarterfinals, always finishing just shy of the podium. The dream kept growing. So did the competition.

“The level is so high,” she says. “The sport is growing fast. The athletes too. So I focused less on pressure and more on preparation. Just making sure I could show up as the best version of myself.”

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A week of pressure, focus and flawless performance

The real nerves kicked in at the draw: her first opponent would be Italy — a strong athlete she hadn’t faced before.“No one wants to be out after round one. So I knew I had to be ready from the start.”

With Poomsae 10 and 13 (number 10 being the most technically challenging), she felt it immediately: this was going well.Her performance was focused, powerful, and — as one person said — “rock solid.”

She won. And suddenly, she was in the quarterfinals.Against Portugal. And she felt it: the medal is mine.

She still had to compete in the semifinals against Germany. She gave it her all. Her first poomsae was beautiful, but the score gap was just too big to catch up.

And that’s how her championship ended.

With tears. Of joy.

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A medal that means more

This isn’t just a piece of metal. It’s the visible proof of ten years of hard work, setbacks, focus and showing up.

For Axelle, this isn’t the end. It’s a new beginning.But for one day — and maybe a little longer — she got to celebrate. Surrounded by friends, her mom, and her coach.

In joy. In pride. In peace.

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Why this moves us

At DM Training, we support women like Axelle not just for what they do, but how they do it. With grace.

With control.

With softness and strength.

She shows us that true achievement isn’t always loud.Sometimes it’s quiet.Sometimes it takes years.But it’s always deeply real.

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Final words from Axelle

“After my performance, I cried tears of joy. Ten years of going all in. And suddenly it was there: my medal. Surrounded by people who believed in me. I’ll never forget it.” — Axelle Bonnez

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💌 What moves you?

Maybe you’re not on a podium (yet). Maybe your win is something small – something between you and yourself.But if there’s one thing Axelle reminds us of, it’s this:

Keep going.

Keep believing.

Keep moving.

And surround yourself with people and stories that support you.

👉 Share your small win with us in the comments or via DM. We see you. And we believe in you.