Paris Olympics: What to know, who to watch during the taekwondo competition
Carl Nickolas of the United States sings the national anthem after receiving a gold in men's taekwondo kyorugi -80kg at the Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile, Sunday, Oct. 22, 2023. He won silver at the 2023 world championships in the -80 kilograms class, the first U.S medal at the taekwondo worlds since 2009. Credit: AP/Esteban Felix
PARIS — A roadmap to follow for the taekwondo competition at the Paris Games:
Athletes to Watch
—Panipak Wongpattanakit, Thailand: Is the defending Olympic champion in the women's -49-kilogram category and the top-ranked athlete in her weight division.
—C.J. Nickolas, United States: He won silver at the 2023 world championships in the -80 kilograms class, the first U.S medal at the taekwondo worlds since 2009.
—Omar Ismail, Palestine: Is the first Palestinian athlete to qualify for the Olympics in a combat sport. He competes in the -58 kilograms category.
—Althea Laurin and Magda Wiet-Henin, France: Are both world champions and are the host country’s best hopes of gold medals.
Storylines to Follow
Thailand's Panipak Wongpattanakit looks during the women's 49kg taekwondo event at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Saturday, July 24, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan. Wongpattanakit is the defending Olympic champion in the women's -49-kilogram category and the top-ranked athlete in her weight division. Credit: AP/Themba Hadebe
—New rules have been introduced for the Paris Games, where matches will be decided in a best-of-three format rather than cumulative scoring. Athletes must win two of the three rounds to win the match. The changes have been introduced to add more action and minimize wait-and-see strategies.
—When the Olympic Games are a family affair: Gergely Salim won gold at the Barcelona Games in 1992 when taekwondo was a demonstration sport. More than 20 years later, his son Omar will be bidding for an Olympic title.
—Kimia Alizadeh, who won bronze for Iran at Rio de Janeiro and was part of the Refugee Olympic Team at Tokyo, has gained Bulgarian citizenship and is expected to compete for her new country in Paris.
—The Refugee Olympic Team will have five athletes competing in taekwondo.
Key Dates
—Taekwondo events will take place between Aug. 7-10 at the Grand Palais, a stunning building mixing steel, stone and glass that was built for the Universal Exhibition in 1900 and has been renovated for the Olympics. In total, 128 athletes will compete in the Paris taekwondo competition: 64 men and 64 women.
Reigning Champions
Men’s +80 kilograms: Vladislav Larin, Russia.
Men’s -80 kilograms: Maksim Khramtcov, Russia.
Men’s -68 kilograms: Ulugbek Rashitov, Uzbekistan.
Men’s -58 kilograms: Vito Dell’aquila, Italy.
Women’s +67 kilograms: Milica Mandic, Serbia.
Women’s -67 kilograms: Matea Jelic, Croatia.
Women’s -57 kilograms: Anastasija Zolotic, United States.
Women’s -49 kilograms: Panipak Wongpattanakit, Thailand.