Brendan Ryan, 22, of Garden City, won two gold medals at the 2026 AAU National Taekwondo Championships in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and was named 2026 AAU Para Athlete of the Year.
Ryan stepped onto the competition floor at the 2026 AAU National Taekwondo Championships in Fort Lauderdale, earning gold medals in Senior Black Belt Para Traditional Forms and Senior Black Belt Para Creative Weapons competitions.
He was recognized as the 2026 AAU Para Athlete of the Year with a plaque engraved with his name.
When he stepped onto the competition floor, he was representing seven years of dedication, hundreds of hours of training, the unwavering support of his family and coaches, and a philosophy that has guided his life since birth.
“It means I’m confident, and it makes me happy.”
His teacher, Master Nadine Pace of Champions Martial Arts–Oceanside, said, “It was an amazing week at Nationals. I’m beyond proud of my student, Brendan, for winning two gold medals in the Para Division.”
Pace continued, “Watching him win two golds and earn the AAU Para-Athlete of the Year Award at the AAU National Championships, has been one of my proudest moments as a teacher. I am beyond proud that his dedication, courage, and hard work have paid off to accomplish such an achievement.”
From the day Brendan was born and diagnosed with Down syndrome, his parents chose to raise him with a simple philosophy: never allow a diagnosis to determine what he could become.
Every new opportunity became an invitation to learn, every challenge became a chance to grow, and every success became another reminder that expectations should never define a person’s future.
Brendan has embraced that philosophy wholeheartedly, and sports quickly became one of the ways he expressed it.
Over the years he has played basketball, soccer, and lacrosse.
Thanks to his close family friends and his older brothers, Brendan developed into an accomplished skier, confidently taking on black diamond trails that many recreational skiers never attempt.
Yet no sport has shaped Brendan’s life more than Taekwondo.
In spring 2026, Brendan represented Champions Martial Arts at the AAU Metro New York National Qualifier at Queens College, competing in Breaking, Weapons, and Forms, qualifying him for the AAU Nationals.
Two months later, at the Champions Martial Arts Long Island Championships, he proudly debuted his bow staff routine in competition, using the event as his final preparation before Nationals.
Brendan joined a select group of athletes whose accomplishments and character have left a lasting mark on the AAU Taekwondo community. For Brendan, one of the week’s greatest rewards wasn’t found on the medal podium—it was meeting fellow athletes from across America and from other countries, sharing stories, encouraging one another, and celebrating the friendships that martial arts creates.
The experience reminded everyone that competition is about much more than winning—it is about respect, perseverance, and community.
This June, Brendan graduated from Garden City High School, marking another milestone.
This fall, he will begin an exciting new chapter as a student in the Molloy University MOST Program, an inclusive three-year college program that will help him continue developing academically, socially, professionally, and personally as he prepares for an independent and meaningful adult life.