Taekwondo is the "art of punching and kicking" and is a martial art that traces its roots back to the Three Kingdoms period (roughly 57 BC to 668 AD) of the Korean Peninsula. The warriors of the Silla Dynasty, the Hwarang, developed a martial art called Taekkyon (hand and foot skills). In the early 20th century, Taekwondo became the most popular martial art in Korea. Later, Taekwondo began to enter the international arena. In 1973, the World Taekwondo Federation was established, and the first World Taekwondo Championships were held in Seoul that year.
The aim of taekwondo is to hit your opponent with your fists and legs while avoiding being hit by them, and it is characterized by a combination of punches and kicks in rapid succession. Competitions take place in an octagonal arena covered with fighting mats and are divided into three rounds of two minutes each. Points are scored based on the difficulty of the technique used; for example, a kick to the head is scored higher than a kick to the torso, and a spinning kick is awarded extra points. Mistakes are penalized accordingly.
Taekwondo made its first Olympic appearance at the 1988 Seoul Olympics as a demonstration sport. It was again a demonstration sport at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics but missed the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. Four years later, at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, taekwondo finally became an official medal sport, with men and women competing in separate events. It has never been absent from an Olympic Games since.
Taekwondo was initially dominated by South Korea, but later became a competitive sport. By the 2012 London Olympics, the gold medals were shared by athletes from eight countries and regions.
The 2024 Paris Olympic Taekwondo Competition is a competition event of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. It will be held at the Grand Palais in the heart of Paris from August 7 to 10, 2024. Medals will be awarded every day (one medal for each level for men and women). There are 4 medals for each weight class in the Olympic Taekwondo competition: 1 gold, 1 silver, and 2 bronze medals. The athlete who wins the two repechage matches will receive a bronze medal.
