Taekwondo champion

Jet, Dec 17, 2001

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Caption: TAEKWONDO CHAMPION: Lauren Blanks, 11, of East Lansing, MI, stands in front of the many trophies she has won in Taekwondo competitions. She is a 2nd-degree black belt in Songham Taekwondo and has made history as the only black belt girl--and the youngest--in the American Taekwondo Association (ATA) (across all black belt girls divisions ages 8 through 16) to have won a World Title in each of the last three consecutive tournament years (1999, 2000 and 2001). Lauren has won more than 100 trophies since age 5 and trains under the direction of ATA Master Carl Flotka of Flotka's ATA Black Belt Academy in Lansing, MI. Lauren, who is a straight-A student, is the daughter of Mitchell and Theresa Blanks.