Taekwondo will be present at the Olympic Games in Paris this summer. A combat sport of Korean origin, it has precise and very specific rules.
Taekwondo will be present at Paris Olympicsand will take possession of the Grand Palais between August 7 and 10, 2024. It is a sport directly derived from Korean martial arts, and more precisely “taekkyon” born around -50 BC Meaning “foot-hand”, taekkyon took a modern form in the 1950s with taekwondo by borrowing techniques from karate and Japanese arts. It is in this form that taekwondo was integrated into the official Olympic program during the Sydney Games in 2000.
Taekwondo pits two fighters against each other, who face each other on the Dojang, a fighting area shaped like an octagon. The fight is divided into three rounds of two minutes. The goal is to hit your opponent in the torso or head with your hands or feet in order to score points. The number of points varies depending on the area hit: a punch is worth one point, while a kick to the head is worth three points, or five points if it is returned. A kick to the chest (plastron) is worth two points or four points if it is returned. Finally, judges can award penalties in the event of refusal to fight, lack of fair play, or an action that is too dangerous.
In total, 64 female and 64 male fighters will be present in Paris, divided into four male and four female categories: -58 kg, -68 kg, -80 kg and +80 kg for men, and -49 kg, -57 kg, -67 kg and +67 kg for women. The Olympic tournament takes the form of a fairly classic direct elimination tree, but with a repechage system that allows those eliminated to move up the tree to face the two losers in the semi-finals. Two bronze medals are therefore awarded.
Historically, South Korea has won most of the medals in most categories. However, this is no longer the case today, with only two medals won at the Tokyo Games, and none in gold. In total, 22 different nations have won at least one taekwondo title, making it one of the disciplines with the most different countries to have medaled. On the French side, the federation hopes to finally win the gold medal that has eluded France since 2000. However, at least one medal has been brought back by French taekwondo at each Olympics, but never in gold. Led by Althéa Laurin, European champion, and Magda Wiet-Hénin, European vice-champion, the French women are clearly aiming for gold while in the men’s competition the French will also try to get a medal in a dense and homogeneous field.