Information taken from http://www.usa-taekwondo.us/
Steven Lopez Rebounds to Win Olympic Bronze Medal
August 22, 2008
After suffering his first-ever defeat in three Olympic Games, and first loss in six years, welterweight Steven Lopez (Sugar Land, Texas) rebounded to win a bronze medal Friday night at the Beijing University of Science and Technology Gymnasium. Italy's Mauro Sarmiento, the eventual silver medalist, defeated Lopez in sudden-death overtime in the quarterfinal round. When Sarmiento advanced to the finals, Lopez was entered into the repechage for one of two bronze medals. Lopez defeated Sebastien Konan from the Ivory Coast, 3-0, and then defeated Azerbaijan's Rashad Ahmadov for the bronze medal, 3-2. Iran's Hadi Saei won the gold medal."I came here expecting to win a gold medal, but I guess it wasn't in the cards today," said Lopez. "I should have been in the finals. It's hard, but I'm happy with the bronze. It's better than nothing. I have two ways to look at it, either succumb to it and think 'I should have been in the finals', but a champion goes out there with dignity and I wanted to prove to myself and others that I am the best."Lopez also said he plans to compete again at the 2012 Olympics."It encourages me to keep going," he said about his future. "I am upset. I love winning, I hate losing. And in no way does this discourage me from wanting to go to the 2012 Olympic Games."The bronze medal gives the Lopez siblings three medals at the Beijing Games. Diana Lopez captured bronze in the women's featherweight division and Mark Lopez was the silver medalist in the men's featherweight class."We are extremely happy with our athletes' performance and effort here in Beijing," said USA Taekwondo CEO David Askinas. "In this most historic Olympics we made history with one family winning three Olympic medals. Steven, Mark and Diana are true champions of the sport. Under difficult circumstances they fought hard and represented our country with honor and dignity. We understand that taekwondo is a difficult sport to officiate. Our federation has issues they need to confront. Nonetheless, my sincere disappointment I feel for our athletes is tempered by the knowledge that they have strived and achieved great things. This, of course, includes our future star Charlotte Craig. She was a great teammate and gave her all, just falling short of the semis by one point. We all expect great things from her in the future."NOTE: The views expressed by the U.S. Olympic Head of Team for Taekwondo, as published in some news articles regarding the Olympic taekwondo competition, do not necessarily reflect the views of USA Taekwondo. USAT continues to work with the World Taekwondo Federation to ensure a level playing field for all athletes.
Mark Lopez Takes Olympic Silver Medal, Diana Lopez Wins Bronze
August 21, 2008
Men's featherweight Mark Lopez (Sugar Land, Texas) took the Olympic silver medal on Thursday at the Beijing University of Science and Technology Gymnasium. Lopez lost the gold medal match to Korea's Son Taejin, 3-2, after Taejin scored the winning point in the final seconds of the third round."Of course I wanted the gold medal," said Mark Lopez. "I came here for the gold medal but I got silver and you've got to be happy with that."Mark's younger sister, Diana Lopez (Sugar Land, Texas), also captured an Olympic medal on Thursday winning the bronze medal in the women's featherweight division. She defeated Italy's Veronica Calabrese in sudden death overtime to claim the medal."I am just so happy, so emotional," Diana Lopez said. "To compete at this level and at this venue is an honor."Eldest brother Jean Lopez, coached both his younger siblings to their podium finishes."This time she really honed in on what I've been saying to her," Jean Lopez said about Diana's bronze medal bout. "I said she didn't have this oppportunity before and it might not be something that she gets the opportunity to do again. I told her that the medal is her hardware. Her kids will brag about this medal and her grandkids will brag about this medal."The fourth member of the Lopez family, men's welterweight Steven Lopez, will try for his third straight Olympic gold medal on Friday. His first match is at 11:30 a.m. (11:30 p.m. EDT Thursday). All matches can be seen live at http://www.nbcolympics.com/.
Charlotte Craig Does Not Advance to Olympic Repechage
August 20, 2008
After losing her quarterfinal match of the Olympic Games on Wednesday to Venezuela's Dalia Contreras Rivero, 3-2, flyweight Charlotte Craig (Murietta, Calif.), 17, was forced to play a two-hour waiting game to see if she would qualify for the repechage round and a chance for a bronze medal. But when Contreras Rivero lost on a referee superiority decision in the semifinals to Thailand's Butree Puedpong, after the two fought a scoreless overtime period, Craig was eliminated from the competition."I figured her strategy was to wait for me and my game is to be aggressive," said Craig of her quarterfinal match with Contreras Rivero."My problem was that she got the first point so I had to push it."Craig was obviously disappointed with the day's outcome, saying she was more nervous waiting around for the chance at the repechage than she was competing in the ring, but she carries with her an Olympic Games experience."I'm just happy I got a chance to represent my country," Craig said.Taekwondo competition continues on Thursday with featherweights Diana and Mark Lopez (Sugar Land, Texas) in action for the U.S. Diana's first match is at 10:00 a.m. (Wednesday 10:00 p.m. EDT) against Thailand's Premwaew Chonnapas, while Mark Lopez faces Afghanistan's Nesar Ahmad Behave at 11:30 a.m. (Wednesday 11:30 p.m. EDT) in the first round.All matches can be seen live at www.NBCOlympics.com.
Charlotte Craig Advances to Quarterfinals of Olympic Games
August 20, 2008
Olympic flyweight Charlotte Craig (Murietta, Calif.) started off her Olympic competition with a 4-0 win over Switzerland's Manuela Bezzola at the Beijing University of Science and Technology Gymnasium. Craig built a 3-0 lead in the first round and maintained control throughout the remainder of the contest. "I set it up pretty well, took my time," said Craig of her scoring during the match. "When I saw she was in my distance, I attacked."Craig moves on to the quarterfinals to face Venezuela's Dalia Contreras Rivero who defeated Craig last December in the semifinals of the Pan Am Olympic Qualifier, 5-3. That match will take place at 3:30 p.m. (3:30 a.m. EDT) and can be seen live at www.NBCOlympics.com.
Olympic Taekwondo Competition Kicks Off in BeijingAugust 18, 2008Olympic Taekwondo competition gets underway Wednesday at the Beijing University of Science and Technology Gymnasium with action in the men’s and women’s Olympic flyweight divisions. The Olympic competition consists of a single-elimination tournament with a repechage for the two bronze medals. Read Preview
The draw for the Olympic taekwondo competition has concluded and the brackets for each of the Americans are listed below:Women's 49kgWomen's 57kgMen's 68kgMen's 80kg
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