Taekwondo was contested as an official sport at the Olympic Games for the first time at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. It had previously been a demonstration sport in 1988 and 1992. Medals were awarded in four weight classes each for men and women. Tran Hieu Ngan became the first Vietnamese Olympic medalist in this competition.
The event of Taekwondo competitions at the 2008 Summer Olympics was held in Beijing. It was held between August 20th and August 23rd at the Beijing Science and Technology University Gymnasium. The event consisted of various athletes, there were 128 Taekwondo practitioners, consisting of 64 men and 64 women. These athletes competed in 8 events, where for the first time ever, two bronze medals were awarded per event.
The men's +80 kg competition in taekwondo at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens took place on August 29 at the Faliro Coastal Zone Olympic Complex.
Ángel Valodia Matos Fuentes is a former Cuban taekwondo athlete. He received a gold medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, and added another at the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro.
Daniel Trenton is an Australian lawyer and taekwondo coach who represented his country in the sport at international level. He won a silver medal in the heavyweight (+80 kg) division of men's taekwondo at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. Trenton was Head Coach of Australia's Olympic taekwondo team in 2008.
The men's +80 kg competition in taekwondo at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney took place on 30 September at the State Sports Centre.
Daba Modibo Keïta is a Malian taekwondo athlete. Keïta has competed in international competitions since 1996, and in 2007 became the heavyweight (+84 kg) division 2007 World Taekwondo Champion in Beijing, and competed in both the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics in the +80 kg class.
Chika Yagazie Chukwumerije is a male taekwondo practitioner from Nigeria. The son of Nigerian politician Uche Chukwumerije, Chika first drew attention in 2003 during the qualifiers for the 2003 All-Africa Games, where he eventually won a bronze medal in the Heavyweight Male category. He qualified for the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, but lost his first bout to Pascal Gentil, the eventual bronze medal winner. Nevertheless, after a period of intensive training that was funded by his father, he became one of Nigeria's best chances for a medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. He won a gold medal at the 2007 All-Africa Games in the +80 kg class and qualified for the 2008 Olympic Games soon after. Although he lost to eventual silver-medal winner Alexandros Nikolaidis in the semifinals of the +80kg event, he was entered into the repechage round of the tournament. Here, after defeating Akmal Irgashev of Uzbekistan he claimed a bronze medal in the event, Nigeria's third medal of the tournament. Four years later he competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics, but did not make it past his first bout.
Taekwondo competitions at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London was held from 8 August to 11 August at the ExCeL London. Competition was held in eight weight categories; four for men, and four for women.
Marlène Olivia Harnois is a Canadian-born French taekwondo Olympic medalist, TV personality, philanthropist and a Knight of the Order of Merit, decorated by the President of France.
Kristopher Moitland Cabezas is a two-time Olympic taekwondo practitioner, and a multiple-time Pan American Championship medalist from Costa Rica. Moitland first competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, where he was eliminated in the heavyweight division, after being defeated by France's Pascal Gentil, who eventually won the bronze medal, during the quarterfinal match, the S Class International Olympic Referee Dr. Mohamed Riad Ibrahim was the Referee of this match. At his second Olympics in Beijing, Moitland improved his tactics and strategies to kick and fight against every opponent in the men's heavyweight category (+80 kg). In the first round, he fought against Korea's Cha Dong-Min, who made his debut at the Olympics. Neither them received any points in the first period, until Moitland received two warnings by the judges, and was eliminated from the competition. Because his opponent advanced further into the final round, Moitland automatically qualified for the repechage bout, where he lost to Uzbekistan's Akmal Irgashev by a single point.
Rashad Ahmadov is an Azerbaijani taekwondo practitioner. He is a four-time medalist at the European Taekwondo Championships, and a two-time bronze medalist for the welterweight division at the World Taekwondo Championships.
Ibrahim Aqil Kamal, more commonly known as Ibrahim Aqil, is a Jordanian taekwondo practitioner, who competed in the men's heavyweight category. He captured two bronze medals in the over-84 kg division at the Asian Taekwondo Championships, and represented his nation Jordan at the 2004 Summer Olympics.
Nevena Lukic is an Austrian taekwondo practitioner, who competed in the women's flyweight category. She picked up a total of eight medals in her career, including a gold from the 2004 European Championships in Lillehammer, Norway, and a bronze from the 2005 World Taekwondo Championships in Madrid, Spain, and represented her nation Austria at the 2004 Summer Olympics. Lukic is also a full-fledged member of the Austrian taekwondo squad in her native Innsbruck,
Christophe Negrel is a French taekwondo practitioner, who competed in the men's welterweight category. He picked up a total of eight medals in his career, including three from the European Championships and a silver in the 70-kg division from the 1997 World Taekwondo Championships in Hong Kong, and attained a top eight finish at the 2004 Summer Olympics, representing his nation France. Throughout his sporting career, Negrel trained full-time for La Rose Boxing and Taekwondo Club in his native Marseilles, and also became a full-fledged member of the French taekwondo squad since 1996, under head coach and master Philippe Pinard.
Daniela Castrignano is an Italian taekwondo practitioner, who competed in the women's heavyweight category. She obtained a total of nine medals in her sporting career, including one Gold and two silvers at the European Championships and a bronze in the over-72 kg division at the 2007 World Taekwondo Championships in Beijing. Castrignano was also selected to compete for the Italian taekwondo squad at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, where she placed fifth in the women's heavyweight category (+67 kg). Throughout her sporting career, Castrignano trained for Team Perulli in her native Lecce under head coach and master Giuseppe Perulli.
Teemu Olavi Heino is a Finnish taekwondo practitioner, who competed in the men's heavyweight category. He claimed three medals in the over-84 kg category at the European Championships since 2002, and represented his nation Finland at the 2004 Summer Olympics. Throughout his sporting career, Heino trained full-time for Kokemäen Taekwondo Club in his native Kokemäki, under head coach and master Pia Aaltonen.
Sangina Baidya is a retired Nepalese taekwondo practitioner, who competed in the women's flyweight category. She won the Gold medal in the Flyweight−47 kg division at the 1996 Asian Taekwondo Championships in Melbourne,Australia.She retrieved a bronze medal in the 51-kg division at the 2000 Asian Taekwondo Championships in Hong Kong, China, and attained a seventh-place finish at the 2004 Summer Olympics, representing her nation Nepal. Before her sporting career ended in 2009, Baidya trained for Central Dojang Taekwondo Club in her native Kathmandu, under her personal coach Nastu Bahadur Bisural.
Taekwondo is one of the most popular and practiced martial arts in India. It is characterized by punching and kicking techniques, with emphasis on head-height kicks, jumping spinning kicks, and fast kicking techniques. The literal translation for tae kwon do is "kicking," "punching," and "the art or way of."
Khaled al-Dosari is a Saudi Arabian taekwondo practitioner. He competed in the men's +80 kg category in the 2000 Summer Olympics. He was defeated by Kim Kyong-hun of South Korea in the first round and then went on to defeat Carlos Delgado of Nicaragua and Milton Castro of Colombia in the repechage, before losing to Pascal Gentil of France in the bronze medal match. Al-Dosari was also the national flag bearer for Saudi Arabia at the Olympic opening ceremony.
