total list of medals GB have and also players of a tekwondo europe

Spain - 1 gold, 2 silver China - 1 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze Turkey - 1 gold, 1 silver S. Korea - 1 gold, 1 silver UK - 1 gold, 1 bronze Italy - 1 gold, 1 bronze France - 1 silver, 1 bronze USA - 2 bronze Russia - 2 bronze Argentina - 1 gold Serbia - 1 gold Iran - 1 silver Gabon - 1 silver Thailand - 1 bronze Taiwan - 1 bronze Mexico - 1 bronze Germany - 1 bronze Afghanistan - 1 bronze Columbia - 1 bronze Croatia - 1 bronze Cuba - 1 bronze My personal ending comments regarding Taekwondo in the 2012 Olympics A very diverse group of winners this year and a number of the traditional Taekwondo powerhouse countries did poorly. Spain did much better than expected. Congrats! The UK has a new Taekwondo champion who should be a strong competitor in a number of future Olympics - Jade "Headhunter" Jones! She was only 19 at the 2012 London Olympics. This was an extremely poor Olympics for South Korean Taekwondo. I am sure there will be tremendous soul searching in that country because they did not dominate their national sport. Sort of like when the USA lost in men's basketball during the 2004 Olympics. Hopefully, Korea will exam their mistakes and come back stronger for the 2016 Olympics. USA also did poorly in Olympic Taekwondo. Unfortunately, the Lopez family exited quickly and may be too old to help in 2016. Luckily, bronze medalist Paige McPherson was only 21 at the 2012 London Olympics. She should come back even stronger for the 2016 Olympics. Most Taekwondo analysts seem to be pleased that the Taekwondo matches in the 2012 Olympics were more exciting and less controversial. This means that Taekwondo is more likely to be included in future Olympics (as it was on the verge of being eliminated after a number of controversies in the 2008 games). For more, please read this Reuters article, Yahoo Sports article or this Dong-A article (a major S. Korean newspaper). However, this The Independent article (UK newspaper) thinks that Taekwondo could be excluded from the 2020 Olympics. You should also read this The Atlantic article that discusses potential replacements... squash, speed climbing, roller derby, etc. Then again the Olympics includes "real sports" such as ribbon dancing (rhythmic gymnastics)! Come on IOC!!! You need to include sports with huge worldwide appeal (i.e. Taekwondo) versus unknown & unpopular niche sports.  Past Taekwondo Olympic Facts The 2012 Olympics were held in London, England. This event started on July 27 and ended on August 12, 2012. Taekwondo was only one of two "traditional" martial arts participating in the 2012 Olympics. The other was Judo. Here are the profiles of the top Taekwondo Olympic athletes. Many of these athletes (i.e. Steven Lopez of the US and Cha Dong-Min of S. Korea) have won medals in past Olympics. There are four weight classes. Men - under 58 kg, 58-68 kg, 68-80 kg and 80+ kg. Women - under 49 kg, 49-57 kg, 57-67 kg and 67+ kg. However in the 2012 Olympics, a country could only compete in two weight classes per gender. Thus a single country could only win a maximum of 4 possible gold medals in Taekwondo at the 2012 Olympics (2 for the men & 2 for the women). The competition consists of sparring for three rounds of two minutes each. If the match has not been decided after these three rounds, the match has a sudden death round. Officials are trying to make Olympic Taekwondo even more exciting so they are awarding more points for spectacular head kicks. According to Wikipedia, "a kick or punch that makes contact with the opponent's hogu (the body guard that functions as a scoring target) scores one point; if a kick to the hogu involved a technique that includes fully turning the attacking competitor's body, so that the back is fully exposed to the targeted competitor during execution of the technique, an additional point is awarded; a kick to the head scores three points; as of October 2010 an additional point is awarded if a turning kick was used to execute this attack"... "Blows are full force; if one competitor is knocked out by a legal attack, the attacking competitor is declared the winner, since the WTF allows knockouts in sparring competition." The primary gold medals winners in the 2008 Olympics were South Korea - 4, Mexico - 2, China - 1 and Iran - 1. The US came in second in the overall medal count with 1 silver and 2 bronze medals. However, no gold medals. Historically, South Korea has been the primary winner at Olympic Taekwondo. However, other countries (i.e. Iran, China and USA) are becoming more & more competitive. Because Taekwondo originated in Korea, there is tremendous pressure on the Korean athletes to win Olympic gold. For more, please read this Reuters article entitled "Olympic-South Koreans fear being branded Taekwondo traitors" (if they lose). The Lopez family is America's best known Taekwondo Olympic participants. Support the US Taekwondo Olympic team and donate to help America's Olympic efforts.

Thank you for voting! Yes. They are America's best in Taekwondo. 27.07%  (36 votes)    Yes. They are NOT too old. Steven will be only 37 and Diana will be 32 in 2016. 26.32%  (35 votes)    No. America needs someone else as the Olympic rules have changed. 15.04%  (20 votes)    No. The Lopez family is too old. Steven will be 37 and Diana will be 32 in 2016. 21.05%  (28 votes)    No. We need the next generation of the Lopez family. 11%  (14 votes)      Total Votes: 133 Comments (0) Return To PollCreate Your Own Poll  Who will win the most Taekwondo gold medals in the 2016 Olympics? USAS. KoreaUKChinaIranAfghanistanSpainMexicoRussiaBrazilTaiwanTurkeyItalyFranceOther VoteView ResultsPolldaddy.com

Videos of Olympic Taekwondo Athletes from Various Countries

• Aaron Cook - These Taekwondo videos focus on Aaron Cook who is an Olympic contestant from the UK. He knocked out Steven Lopez (the Olympic gold medalist) in 2009.
• Cha Dong-Min - These Taekwondo videos focus on Cha Dong-Min who is an Olympic gold medalist from S. Korea.
• Jade Jones - These Taekwondo videos focus on Jade Jones who is a young Olympic Taekwondo star from the UK.
• Steven Lopez - These Taekwondo videos focus on Steven Lopez who is an Olympic gold medalist from the USA. He will be competing in the 2012 Olympics.
• Diana Lopez - These Taekwondo videos focus on Diana Lopez who has won a bronze medal at the Olympics. She is the sister of Steven Lopez.
• Hadi Saei - These Taekwondo videos focus on Hadi Saei who is an Olympic gold medalist from Iran. He has won two gold medals at the Olympics (in 2004 and 2008).
• Sarah Stevenson - These Taekwondo videos focus on Sarah Stevenson who is an Olympic Taekwondo star from the UK.

Interesting Articles about Taekwondo Olympic Athletes (these articles open in a new window)

• Olympic Sparring Strategy - Olympic fighters use video to scout Olympic rivals - This article examines how Taekwondo fighters are watching videos (i.e. Youtube) of their potential Olympic opponents to find their weaknesses.
• Olympic Taekwondo Favorites - Olympic Taekwondo Preview - This article looks at the Taekwondo athletes favored to win at the 2012 London Olympics. It examines athletes from the US, UK, Iran, China, S. Korea, Greece, Spain and France.
• Afghanistan Olympic Team - Afghanistan Trailblazer - This article looks at an Afghan Taekwondo star who won a bronze medal in the 2008 Olympics and how he is preparing for the 2012 games.
• Korea Olympic Team - 2012 Olympic Profile: Taekwondo Athlete Lee Dae-Hoon - This Wall Street Journal Asia article looks at a Korean Taekwondo star who will be fighting for Olympic gold.
• New Zealand Taekwondo - Meet The Olympic Athlete Who Was So Desperate For Cash He Started A Brothel - The Business Insider article looks at a New Zealand Taekwondo athlete who will be competing at the 2012 Olympics.
• Taiwan Olympic Team - 2012 Olympic Profile: "Pretty Baby" Yang Shu-Chun - This Wall Street Journal Asia article looks at a Taiwanese Taekwondo star known for her looks ("Pretty Baby") as well as her Olympic martial arts skills.
• UK Olympic Team - Biggest Battle in Taekwondo over before Olympics - This ESPN articles looks at how UK's Aaron Cook gave up his battle for an Olympic spot because it was too expensive to sue.
• UK Olympic Team - Headhunter Jones - This female Brit Taekwondo star is only 18 and is extremely aggressive. She should be fun to watch in the Olympics.
• UK Olympic Team - Aaron Cook reveals how leaving elite program helped him put 'dark days' behind him - This article looks at UK's Taekwondo star Aaron Cook (who knocked out America's Steven Lopez in 2009).
• UK Olympic Team - Taekwondo world champion Sarah Stevenson fighting on for her parents - This British Taekwondo star (who won a bronze medal in the Beijing Olympics) is fighting in the London Olympics to honor the memory of her parents (who have recently died).
• USA Olympic Team - Lopez family, standard-bearers for taekwondo in US, may be near end of Olympic run - This Washington Post article looks at how the Lopez family may be becoming too old to compete at the 2016 Olympics.
• USA Olympic Team - Lopez Siblings Clinch Berths on US Team - The Lopez family has been America's best Taekwondo Olympians but they have had more trouble qualifying this year. Is age creeping up? Steven Lopez has won Taekwondo medals in the past three Olympics. However, he will be 33 when he competes in the 2012 Olympics.
• USA Olympic Team - Lopez, Abdallah Advance - This article looks at the some of people going to the US Olympic Taekwondo trials in March 2012.
• USA Olympic Team - Ninja Turtles inspired USA Taekwondo team's Jennings
• USA Olympic Team - Diana Lopez gets her kicks from her family - This article focuses on Olympic Taekwondo star, Diana Lopez.

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