Taekwondo Champion Isabelle Sava Dies at 19 After Cardiac Arrest
Taekwondo champion Isabelle Sava, a rising star on the international stage and a second-year law student in London, has died at the age of 19 after suffering a cardiac arrest in her sleep, her family has confirmed.
Her death was described as “completely unexpected” on a GoFundMe page set up by family friends to support funeral and memorial costs. Emergency services “fought desperately to resuscitate her” but “Isabelle could not be saved,” the fundraiser said.
A life built on discipline and ambition has been cut short in an instant.
Sava, the only child of Laura and Ovi Sava, was preparing to start her second year studying LLB law at Queen Mary University of London and was “working towards her dream of becoming a commercial lawyer,” according to the fundraising page. Away from the lecture halls, she had already carved out a formidable sporting résumé.
She spent more than a decade in taekwondo, committing herself to the sport from childhood. The GoFundMe tribute described it as “another enormous part of Isabelle’s life,” highlighting the “training, discipline, perseverance and determination” that carried her to second-degree black belt status.
Her breakthrough moment came on the world stage. In 2022, Sava competed at the World Taekwondo Championships in the Netherlands, where she won a silver medal in sparring, underlining her status as one of the most promising young fighters in her discipline.
Her club, Trenic TKD, paid an emotional tribute on Instagram.
“It is with deep sadness and heavy hearts that we share the devastating news of the passing of Isabelle Sava,” the academy wrote. They recalled how she began her Taekwon-Do journey at their Yeading Academy in 2015 and surged through the grades, earning her 1st Degree Black Belt in 2019 and her 2nd Degree in 2021.
Already a regional and national champion, she pushed on again, targeting selection for Team UK at the ITF World Championships. On her very first international outing, she delivered. Trenic TKD described how she battled through “tough opponents” to secure that silver medal in sparring, a performance that marked her out as a competitor of rare composure and spirit.
Yet the tributes did not stop at her medals.
“Beyond her remarkable achievements on the mats, Isabelle was a pleasure to teach, train alongside, and know,” the academy said, adding that she will be “sorely missed by everyone who had the privilege of meeting her across the Taekwon-Do community.” Their message closed with “deepest thoughts, love, and prayers” for her family and friends “during this heart-breaking time.”
The GoFundMe campaign, created “with an incredibly heavy heart” on behalf of her parents, aims to help cover funeral and memorial expenses and “other unexpected costs the family is facing following her sudden passing.” By Monday morning, it had raised more than £13,900 towards a £16,000 target from over 330 donations, a reflection of the impact she made in both academic and sporting circles.
Sava’s death once again shines a harsh light on cardiac arrest, a medical emergency in which the heart suddenly stops beating and fails to pump blood to the brain and other vital organs. According to the Cleveland Clinic, it is frequently fatal without immediate intervention.
The Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada estimates around 60,000 cardiac arrests occur outside hospital settings in Canada each year, with only one in 10 people surviving an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. Warning signs can include sudden collapse, loss of consciousness, unresponsiveness to touch or sound, and not breathing or not breathing normally.
For those who trained with her, studied alongside her, or watched her fight her way to a world silver medal, the statistics feel distant. What remains is the memory of a 19-year-old who had already proved she could excel in two demanding worlds — and who was only just getting started.
