Barbara Kunkel

Barbara Kunkel was a taekwondoka who competed at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, after winning a bronze medal at the 1999 Pan American Games. Kunkel started in sports as a basketball player but knee injuries cut short that career, and she turned to karate and taekwondo as training methods to strengthen her knees.

As an 8th degree black belt, Kunkel was a member of the USA National Team in taekwondo for eight years. She worked until 1995 with Marriott Inflight Services & Caterair International but left that job to move to the US Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. Kunkel later became a martial arts coach, working with both AAU Teams and USA Taekwondo. She also worked as a motivational speaker. Kunkel was inducted into the Martial Arts Hall of Fame.