Taekwondo, Tae Kwon Do or Taekwon-Do is a Korean martial art involving punching and kicking techniques, with emphasis on head-height kicks, spinning jump kicks, and fast kicking techniques. The literal translation for tae kwon do is "kicking", "punching", and "the art or way of". They are a kind of martial art in which one attacks or defends with hands and feet anytime or anywhere, with occasional use of weapons. The physical training undertaken in Taekwondo is purposeful and fosters strength of mind through mental armament.
World Taekwondo, called the World Taekwondo Federation until June 2017, is an international federation governing the sport of taekwondo and is a member of the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF).
Kukkiwon, also known as World Taekwondo Headquarters, and home of the World Taekwondo Academy, is where the official taekwondo governing organization was established by the South Korean government. It is supervised by the International Sports Division of the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism.
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.
The British Taekwondo Control Board (WTF) Ltd, operating as British Taekwondo is the National Governing Body for World Taekwondo in Great Britain. It is a member of, and recognised by, World Taekwondo, the international governing body for taekwondo as recognised by the International Olympic Committee and the International Paralympic Committee. British Taekwondo is also a member of the British Olympic Association (BOA), the British Paralympic Association (BPA) and the European Taekwondo Union (ETU).
Logan Campbell is a New Zealand taekwondo practitioner who competed at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and 2012 London Olympics.
Robin Haeyoun Cheong is a New Zealand taekwondo athlete, who competed in the Women's 57 kg class at the 2008 Summer Olympics held in Beijing, China reaching quarter finals and eventually ranked 7th. She won gold medal that same year in the Beijing Olympic Selection competition.
Carmen Marton is a taekwondo athlete from Australia. She is Australia's first ever world taekwondo champion.
Hedaya Malak Wahba is an Egyptian taekwondo practitioner. She participated in the 2012, the 2016 Olympics and won a bronze medal in 2016, and the 2020 Olympics winning Egypt the gold medal in the tournament.
Taekwondo at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro took place from 17 to 20 August at the Carioca Arena 3 inside the Barra Olympic Park in Barra da Tijuca. Around 128 taekwondo fighters competed in eight weight categories; four for men, and four for women.
Vaughn Scott is a male Taekwondo fighter who represented New Zealand at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London in the Men's 80kg weight class. He lost his first round fight to Argentine Sebastián Crismanich by a score of 9–5. Because Crismanich went on to win the gold medal, Scott was included in the repechage and lost his fight to Afghan Nesar Ahmad Bahave by a score of 11–6, and was eliminated from the Olympic tournament.
Matthew Francis Beach is a New Zealand taekwondo practitioner of British origin. Beach qualified for the men's heavyweight division (+80 kg) at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, after winning the Oceanian Qualification Tournament in Nouméa, New Caledonia. He lost the preliminary round of sixteen match to China's Liu Xiaobo, with a score of 1–4. Beach currently resides in Bogota, Colombia, where he is employed by the British Embassy as an immigration officer.
Australian Taekwondo, also known as AUS TKD, is the governing body for the sport of taekwondo in Australia.
New Zealand competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016. This was the nation's twenty-third appearance as an independent nation at the Summer Olympics, having made its debut at the 1920 Games and competed at every Games since. The New Zealand team consisted of 199 athletes, 100 women and 99 men, across twenty sports, the first time New Zealand was represented by more women than men at the Summer Olympics.
Andrea Kilday is a female Taekwondo fighter from Auckland, New Zealand.
The Dominican Republic Taekwondo Federation, is the governing body for the sport of taekwondo in the Dominican Republic.
South African Taekwondo Federation is the governing body for the sport of taekwondo in South Africa and a member of the world governing body, World Taekwondo (WT) along with the continental governing body, African Taekwondo Union (AFTU). South African Taekwondo Federation is also registered with the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee.
Singapore Taekwondo Federation (STF) is Singapore's national governing body for taekwondo. It is affiliated to World Taekwondo (WT) and Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC). In May 2019, the STF was suspended from both organisations.
Leon Hayward is an Australian-born New Zealand field hockey player, who plays as a goalkeeper.
Tom Burns is a taekwondo athlete from New Zealand.
