Taekwondo

The Korean sport of taekwondo first appeared on the Olympic stage in Korea, as a demonstration sport at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. It reappeared as a demonstration in 1992, before being granted official status for the 2000 Games. In order to limit the number of total Olympic competitors, just four weight categories have been contested per gender, while eight are held at the World Championships.

At the Olympics, the sport has been dominated by South Korea as of 2024, with 25 medals and 14 gold medals, followed by China, with 13 medals and seven gold medals. Four taekwondoka have earned two golds and a bronze at the Olympic Games: Hadi Saei (IRI), Steven Lopez (USA), Hwang Gyeong-Seon (KOR), and Panipak Wongpattanakit (THA). María Espinoza, of Mexico, has also won three medals at the Olympics, one of each color.

Taekwondo is governed worldwide by World Taekwondo (WT), previously known as the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF), which was formed on 28 May 1973, in Seoul. On 17 July 1980, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) recognized the federation at the 83rd IOC Session in Moskva. As of 2024, World Taekwondo had 213 affiliated member nations.