Taekwondo

Sport Overview

Taekwondo at Paris 2024

Venue: Grand Palais

Competition Dates: August 7-10 (Days 12-15)

Events: 8 (4 men, 4 women)

Trivia: Test your knowledge!

Taekwondo is a sport of power, accuracy and control in which competitors earn points by landing kicks to their opponent’s head and body as follows:

• 1 point – valid punch to the trunk protector that covers the chest area
• 2 points – valid kick to the trunk protector
• 3 points – valid kick to the head
• 4 points – valid turning kick to the trunk protector
• 5 points – valid turning kick to the head
• 1 point – awarded for every Gam-jeom (one-point penalty) to the opponent

Competitors can also win by knocking out their opponent, although this is rare at the elite level, or by default if the opponent accumulates 10 penalty points. Each match is a best-of-three rounds, with each round lasting two minutes. If a competitor accumulates five penalty points in one round, their opponent is the winner of that round.

There are eight events on the Olympic taekwondo program, four each for men and women, which include wider weight ranges than the 16 events (eight for men, eight for women) contested at the world championships. The men’s Olympic events are -58kg, -68kg, -80kg, +80kg while the women’s Olympic events are -49kg, -57kg, -67kg, +67kg.

All events are held as single elimination tournaments, until two athletes remain. The winner of this final match is awarded the gold medal while the loser is awarded the silver. There are two bronze medals awarded. Any competitor who lost to one of the two eventual finalists is placed in a repechage. The two losing semifinalists from the main bracket advance directly to one of the two bronze medal matches with their opponents emerging from the single elimination repechage bracket.

Canada’s Olympic History (Pre-LA 2028)

Canada has won three Olympic medals in taekwondo. Canada’s first taekwondo medal came in the sport’s first Olympic appearance at Sydney 2000, when Dominique Bosshart won +67kg bronze. Karine Sergerie won 67kg silver eight years later at Beijing 2008, giving her Canada’s highest finish in taekwondo. At Paris 2024, Skylar Park earned a 57kg bronze.

The best Canadian result in men’s taekwondo events are the quarterfinal appearances by Sébastien Michaud (-80kg) at Beijing 2008 and François Coulombe-Fortier (+80kg) at London 2012.

Olympic Taekwondo History

Taekwondo began to develop as a sport on the Korean peninsula in the aftermath of the Second World War. It was fittingly included as a demonstration sport at Seoul 1988, when South Korea hosted the Olympic Games for the first time. It returned as a demonstration sport at Barcelona 1992 before gaining full medal status at Sydney 2000