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Former Marco Islander, Victoria Padron, 7, won two gold medals at the 2008 AAU Youth and Taekwondo Championships in Madison, Wis. over the weekend.

She was given a gold medal for 6-to-7-year-olds because there was no one her age with a red belt in that division, and she earned the second gold, fighting in a higher age bracket.

Master Ryon Frederick, Victoria’s coach, advanced Victoria to spar with 8-and-9-year-old red belts. There were 10 competitors and Victoria fought her way into the championship bout, fighting a bigger 9-year-old.

“She kept hitting me below my belt and on my head,” Victoria recounted. “I was in pain and I have a foot print on my head gear as a souvenir. The crowd kept cheering and telling me not to give up. I heard my dad’s loud voice telling me to give it all I have. My coach lost his voice. He picked me up and hugged me really tight and told me good job.”

Frederick, from Academy of Martial Arts in Kissimmee, is a former USA Olympian Champion.

“His training is very intense,” said Victoria’s mother Maria. “All his students returned with medals.”