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.
Saori Kimura is a retired Japanese volleyball player who played for Toray Arrows. She also played for the All-Japan women's volleyball team and was a captain of the team. She was a participant at the 2004 Summer Olympics, 2008 Summer Olympics, 2012 Summer Olympics and 2016 Summer Olympics, winning a bronze medal in 2012. She was so versatile that she could play any position.
Donald David "Donnie" von Geisler III is a retired Filipino taekwondo athlete of German-American descent, who represented the Philippines in the Summer Olympic Games in the years 2000 and 2004. He is a 1998 Asian Games and World Cup Taekwondo Silver medalist, and won a gold medal for the men's lightweight division at the 2005 Southeast Asian Games held in Pasay, Philippines before his retirement.
Canada, represented by the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC), competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China, from August 8 to 24, 2008. Canadian athletes had competed in every Summer Olympic Games since 1900 with the exception of 1980, which were boycotted in protest of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Canada sent 332 athletes in 25 sports, the seventh largest team at the games and Canada's largest since 1988. Canada did not send a team in handball, volleyball or basketball. Kayaker and 2004 Summer Olympics gold medalist Adam van Koeverden was the flag bearer at the opening ceremonies; Karen Cockburn bore the flag at the closing.
Sheikha Maitha bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum is a karate, taekwondo, polo athlete and Sheikha of Dubai. She was the first woman from UAE to represent the country in the Olympics in 2008.
Clarissa Kyoko Mei Ling Chun (陳美玲) is the head coach of the Iowa Hawkeyes Women's wrestling program, formerly, the USA Wrestling assistant National coach and an American Olympic women's freestyle 48 kg (105.5 lbs) wrestler. Chun was the first female wrestler from Hawaii to win a medal at the Olympics. She was inducted into the 2018 Hawaii Sports Hall of Fame and 2022 National Wrestling Hall of Fame as a Distinguished Member.
Kim Je-kyoung is a retired taekwondo athlete born on 10 November 1970. He was the 1992 Summer Olympic gold medalist in taekwondo. At the 1992 Summer Olympics, taekwondo was a demonstration sport. Kim won the final match in the heavyweight division for South Korea. Kim also took the gold medal at the 11th, 12th and 13th Taekwondo World Championships 1993, 1995 and 1997 in New York, Manila and Hong Kong, respectively.
Lee Dae-Hoon is a South Korean taekwondo athlete. He won a bronze medal in the 2016 Summer Olympics and a silver in the 2012 Summer Olympics. He has achieved world first level rankings in the under 68 kg weight class.
Hadi Saei is an Iranian councilor and former taekwondo athlete who became the most successful Iranian athlete in Olympic history and the most titled champion in this sport by winning 9 world class titles . Earlier in his career and in the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Saei had won the Bronze medal. He was elected as member of City Council of Tehran in 2006 local elections and was reelected in 2013 but lost the 2017 election. He is one of the three most medal winners olympians in the sport of Taekwondo.
Shitaye Eshete Habtegebrel is an Ethiopian-born long-distance runner who competes internationally for Bahrain.
Afghanistan competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, United Kingdom from 27 July to 12 August 2012. Six Afghan athletes were selected for the Games, competing in four different sporting events. Rohullah Nikpai, who won Afghanistan's first ever Olympic medal at the 2008 Games, managed to repeat his bronze medal in the men's 68 kg taekwondo event for the second time.
Cambodia, which is represented by the National Olympic Committee of Cambodia (NOCC), competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London from 27 July to 12 August 2012. Six Cambodian athletes competed in the disciplines of track and field athletics, swimming, taekwondo, and judo.
Nur Tatar Askari is a world and European champion Turkish female taekwondo practitioner competing in the feather, light and welterweight divisions. She is of Kurdish descent.
Văn Ngọc Tú is a Vietnamese judoka who competes in the women's 48 kg category. She was a four-time gold medalist at the Southeast Asian Games as well was a one-time silver medalist between 2005 and 2013. She also won a bronze medal at the 2011 Asian Judo Championships. At the 2012 Summer Olympics, she was defeated in the first round by future gold medalist of the event, Sarah Menezes. At the 2016 Summer Olympics, she was eliminated in the second round by Jeong Bo-kyeong. After this, she announced her retirement from competition.
Samuel Thomas Harper Morrison, also known as Butch Morrison, is a Filipino taekwondo practitioner.
Panipak "Tennis" Wongpattanakit is a Thai taekwondo athlete. She is currently the top-ranked athlete in the women's 49kg.
Dương Thúy Vi is a wushu taolu athlete from Vietnam. She is one of the most renowned Southeast Asian athletes of all time, having won numerous medals at the World Wushu Championships, Asian Games, Southeast Asian Games, and the Asian Wushu Championships.
Milena Titoneli Guimarães is a Brazilian taekwondo fighter. She won the gold medal in the women's 67 kg event at the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima, Peru and the 2021 Pan American Taekwondo Championships in Cancún, Mexico. She is also a two-time bronze medalist in this event at the World Taekwondo Championships.
Pauline Louise Lopez is a Filipino taekwondo practitioner. She is a two-time gold medalist at the Southeast Asian Games and a bronze medalist at the Asian Games.
Chai Fong Ying is a former wushu taolu and taijiquan athlete from Malaysia. She was a three-time world champion and a double gold medalist at the Asian Games and the Southeast Asian Games. She also won a silver medal at the 2008 Beijing Wushu Tournament.
