Sports

Taekwondo: Korean Favorites But Watch Out For USA

NEW YORK (AP) ― You can't talk taekwondo without talking Korea. Koreans invented the sport, fought to get it in the Olympics—in Seoul in 1988 and then officially in Sydney in 2000 -- and have dominated it ever since.

Eight Koreans have entered the Olympic tournament, all have gone home with medals.

So, let's get one obvious point out of the way—if there's a Korean in a bout when the feet start flying in Beijing, that competitor is probably the favorite.

But if anyone can steal the spotlight, it's probably the fighting Lopez family of Texas.

First, there's Steve, who has won the Olympic welterweight gold two times running and the past four world championships, making him the most decorated athlete in the sport. His little brother, Mark, got his first world championship in 2005, as did their kid sister, Diana. Coached by their oldest brother, Jean, they all will be fighting in Beijing.

Let's take a step back on that one.

All three Lopezes, who hail from Sugar Land, Texas, won at the 2005 world championships. That's never happened for three siblings in any sport.

And, for the hard-core trivia fans out, they are the first trio of siblings to make the U.S. Olympic team since 1904, when gymnasts Edward, Richard and William Tritschler accomplished the feat.

For 25-year-old Mark and 23-year-old Diana, the Olympics are a new challenge, though Diana was an alternate in 2004. Both are featherweights.

Jean, the coaching brother who got as far as the silver in the world championships during his own fighting days, said that just making sure they all got on the team, amid a great deal of hype, was the hardest part. The family's fighting style is more oriented toward winning international titles, where the competition is more predictable, he said.

"There's just so many variables," he said, reflecting on the national qualifiers, at which Mark and Diana won their berths. Steve had already earned a spot by qualifying at the world Olympic qualification tournament last September in Manchester, England. "We have a particular style of fighting, and I really believe our brand is a lot more effective on the international level."

After the three were all in, Jean summed it up this way: "At this moment, everything is perfect."

In taekwondo there are usually eight weight classes, but in the Olympics there are only four for each gender—flyweight, featherweight, welterweight and heavyweight—meaning eight gold medals.

The total number of taekwondo entrants is also limited at the Games to 128, and each nation can bring a maximum of four. The U.S. team is rounded out by women's flyweight Charlotte Craig, who won the bronze at the 2007 world championships.

Beijing's competition will be further streamlined.

Instead of having a repechage system in which losers get another chance and only one bronze medal is awarded, Beijing will for the first time go with a single-elimination format—which is easier to schedule and puts less pressure on officials—and award two bronzes.

Korea, whose athletes have been training in the northeast mountains of Hambaek, is looking for all its entrants to win, taking home half the golds. That's a tall order, even for Korea. The Koreans earned two golds in Athens—the same as China and Taiwan—and took three of the eight in Sydney.

Strongly tipped to win gold among them is Hwang Kyung-sun in the women's welterweight class. Hwang, who captured a bronze medal at the 2004 Games, is the first South Korean taekwondo athlete to compete at the Olympics twice.

She cites Gladys Epangue of France as her biggest rival. The two have fought three times so far. Hwang beat Epangue in 2005 and 2007, but lost to the French player last year due to a calf injury.

In the lightest division, Taiwan swept the gold in Athens—winning that country's first-ever gold medals—and will be looking for a repeat from Chen Shih-hsin in women's and Chu Mu-yen in men's.

China's Chen Zhong, meanwhile, will be fighting for a three-peat, having won in Sydney and Athens.

Chen is the odds-on favorite to take the Olympic women's heavyweight title again, having won the Asian championships over Nadin Dawani of Jordan in April. But it could be a close finish—her victory over Dawani went into overtime, and when no points were scored Chen was declared the winner because she had shown more aggressive tactics.

(© 2008 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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