Danielle Laney is a former Olympic Level Competitor in Taekwondo. Danielle is from Jenks, Oklahoma [1] She competed in the women's welterweight division. [2] She would win the Olympic trials by going undefeated, [3] beating Arlene Limas. [4] At the 1992 Olympics she would win a bronze. [5] Her brother Brian Laney was also a member of the National Team. [6]
Taekwondo, also spelled tae kwon do or taekwon-do, is a Korean martial art involving punching and kicking techniques. The literal translation for taekwondo is "kicking", "punching", and "the art or way of". It sometimes involves the use of weapons.
Dae Sung Lee is a Korean-American master of taekwondo who holds the rank of 7th dan. Lee is a 10-time US national taekwondo team member and two-time Olympic coach. He served as taekwondo coach for the US Summer Olympic team in 1992.
Taekwondo was introduced to the Philippines through the efforts of Kim Bok Man and Young Man Park. Grand Master Kim Bok Man arrived in 1970 to continue Park's legacy of propagating Taekwondo upon the invitation of President Marcos. Kim continued to pioneer Taekwondo worldwide and left the Philippines in 1971. In 1975, Grand Master Hong Sung-chon came to the Philippines to promote Taekwondo, eventually establishing the Philippine Taekwondo Association (PTA). The current central headquarters of the PTA is at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex. The PTA is a member of the Kukkiwon, World Taekwondo Federation, Philippine Sports Commission, Philippine Olympic Committee and Asian Taekwondo Union.
USA Taekwondo (USAT) is the national governing body (NGB) of Taekwondo for the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) and thus the United States' official Member National Association of World Taekwondo USAT has complete authority over all decisions regarding US national junior and senior team selections for World Taekwondo events, including the Summer Olympic Games Taekwondo competition event.
Lee Seung-Min (이승민) is a Korean taekwondo coach and former world champion in women's taekwondo representing South Korea.
Sharon Ann Jewell is a former US Olympian in the sport of taekwondo. She would train at Howard University under Dong Ja Yang. Sharon would earn a bronze medal in the 1988 Seoul Olympics. While there she would meet and date Olympic wrestler, Rodney Smith. After her career she became a taekwondo referee.
Dong Ja Yang is the former chairman of the AAU National Taekwondo Union from 1979-84. From 1984-88, He was a member of the Executive Board of the United States Olympic Committee. Earning a Ph.D. in counseling psychology, Yang introduced taekwondo to 77 colleges in the U.S. from 1977-83. During these years, he was essential in helping raise taekwondo to Olympic status. He taught Taekwondo for 35 years at Howard University. In 1986, Yang asked WTF President Kim Un-Yong to lower the black belt fee for taekwondo, which resulted in Yang's removal from the WTF Pan American Taekwondo Union. In 1988, three of his students earned medals in the Seoul Summer Olympics: Lynnette Love, Debra Holloway and Sharon Jewell. He received an award from Congressman Ralph Metcalfe for his work in bringing women to taekwondo. He also hosted the Howard University Taekwondo Championships. In 2001, he filed a complaint against the United States Taekwondo Union. Yang was elected to the Taekwondo Hall of Fame and holds a 9th degree black belt.
Jay Warwick is a former United States Olympian in taekwondo. Warwick won bronze medals in the 1988 Seoul Olympics and 1987 Barcelona World Championships, gold at the 1986 Pan Am Championships and silver in 1982, bronze at the 1987 Pan Am Games and 8 national titles. In 1999, he became executive director of the United States Taekwondo Union then Director of Sport Partnerships with the United States Olympic Committee in 2003 and in 2018 became Secretary General of USA Taekwondo. Outside sports, he had a long career as a restaurateur.
Herbert J. "Herb" Perez is a former US Olympian in taekwondo and a politician. He was a gold medalist in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.
Diane Murray is a former US Olympian, competing in taekwondo. Murray earned a silver medal in the 1992 Olympic Games and a bronze medal at the 1993 World Taekwondo Championships in the bantamweight division. In 1992, at the age of 39, she was inducted into the Black Belt magazine Hall of Fame.
Kim Dotson is a former national level competitor in taekwondo from Cleveland, Ohio, United States. Kim would win the 1985 World Cup. Kim would win gold at the 1986 PanAmerican Championships. Kim would compete in the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games. and would win Silver at both the 1987 and 1989 World Taekwondo Championships. Kim would serve as a coach for several women in taekwondo.
Terry PoindexterGautreaux was a former US Olympian who competed in taekwondo.
Panipak "Tennis" Wongpattanakit is a Thai taekwondo athlete. She is currently the top-ranked athlete in the women's 49kg.
Brenda J. Sell is an American martial arts instructor, and the highest ranking non-Korean female practitioner of taekwondo, according to the Kukkiwon, an international ranking body within Taekwondo. She holds the rank of 9th degree black belt in the art.
Karate was first introduced in the United Kingdom by Vernon Bell, a judo instructor who attended karate classes with Henry Plée in Paris.
Matea Jelić is a Croatian taekwondo athlete. She is the 2020 Olympic champion in 67 kg.
Jessamine Jada Khan, often shortened as Jessa Khan, is an American-born Cambodian jiu-jitsu athlete. She is the 2023 IBJJF World Champion.
Skylar M.-Y. Park is a Canadian taekwondo athlete. She is the reigning Pan American Games champion after she won gold in Santiago at the 2023 Pan American Games and won a bronze medal at the 2019 World Taekwondo Championships. Park also won the gold medal at the 2018 Pan American Taekwondo Championships on the women's 57 kg weight category. She represented Canada at the 2020 Summer Olympics in the women's 57 kg weight category.
Samer Kamal is a Jordanian taekwondo practitioner, competing in the featherweight category.
Chavela Aaron is a former international competitor for Taekwondo and Karate. She competed in the 1992 US Olympic Trials as well as other competitions. She earned a silver in the 1991 World Taekwondo Championships in the middleweight division. Originally from Boston, she has also lived in Jacksonville, Florida.