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| Born | February 9, 1966 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Alma mater | De Paul University (1990) | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Arlene Limas (born February 9, 1966) [1] is an American taekwondo practitioner and multiple international gold medalist of Mexican and Polish descent.
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | February 9, 1966 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Alma mater | De Paul University (1990) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Arlene Limas (born February 9, 1966) [1] is an American taekwondo practitioner and multiple international gold medalist of Mexican and Polish descent.
Limas graduated with honors from Whitney Young Magnet High School in Chicago and studied political science at De Paul University in 1990. [2] [3]
Limas began her martial arts training in Shaolin kung fu at age 5 before starting taekwondo at age 8. [4] [5] At the age of 15 she began competing in Sport Karate, [6] where she was known as "Lady Kung Fu". [7] She was a top ranked point fighter winning the Diamond Nationals in 1983 and 1986. [8] [9] In 1989 she was inducted into the Diamond Nationals Hall of Fame. [10] She was also known for her competitive rivalry with Linda Denley. [7]
Limas then transitioned to taekwondo competition, [4] taking 1st in the 1986 the US Collegiate National Taekwondo Championship, [11] and winning gold in the World University Taekwondo Championships. [12] In 1987 Limas took 1st at the National Collegiate Taekwondo Championships. [13] [11] Limas had to appear before an International Olympic Committee board to request to participate in the 1988 Olympics because she had previously been paid to fight in sport karate events. [14] Limas made history when she became the first American to win a gold medal at the 24th Olympic Games in Seoul, Korea in taekwondo, which made its Olympic debut as an exhibition sport. [15] [16]
In 1989 Limas won the US Collegiate National Taekwondo Championship. [11] In 1990 Limas took gold at the World University Taekwondo Championships, [17] took 1st at the National Taekwondo Championships, [18] and took gold at the Pan American Taekwondo Championships. [19] In 1991 Limas took gold at the World Taekwondo Championships, [20] took 1st at the US National Taekwondo Team Trials, [21] and took 1st at the US Olympic Festival. [13] Limas sued the United States Taekwondo Union for a chance to fight Danielle Laney for a spot on the 1992 Olympic team, [22] but lost her bout with Laney. [23] [24] Limas retired from competition in 1992 and opened up her own martial arts school "Power Kix Martial Arts" in Stafford, Virginia. [5]
In 1998 Limas made a comeback and won the US National Taekwondo Championship. [25] [5] She was an Olympic hopeful for the 2000 Olympics, [26] having won the 1999 US National Team Trials, [27] but she failed to qualify and retired after 29 years of competition. [5] Limas is a member of the Taekwondo Hall of Fame. [2] Limas was inducted June 20, 2019 into the National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame located in Troy, Michigan.
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