Featherweight (≤57 kilograms), Women

Usually, a South Korean taekwondo gold medal is not a surprise at any Olympics, but nobody expected such a result in the women’s sub-middleweight category in Paris. Among the four Korean taekwondo athletes, Kim Yu-Jin had the lowest world ranking position at No. 24.

In her first match, Kim defeated Hatice Kübra İlgün of Türkiye, the 2021 bronze medalist and world No. 5, by 2-0 (7-5, 7-2). In the quarter-final, Kim dispatched world No. 4 from Canada Skylar Park, who went down 2-0 (7-6, 9-5). Even the top-ranked exponent in this weight class, Luo Zongshi of China, could do nothing much against Kim. Luo had a World title, two Asian Games gold medals, and one Asian continental championship to her name. An Olympic gold here would have been the final piece of the puzzle for Luo, but Kim beat her in the semi-finals, 2-1 (7-0, 1-7, 10-3).

In the final, Nahid Kiyani of Iran, world No. 2, stood between Kim and the top of the podium, and the South Korean was determined not to let years of hard work go to waste. Kim closed out Kiani by winning the second round 9-0. Kiani could do little against the tall and athletic South Korean. Kim became the fourth South Korean to win gold in this weight class, but the first since 2008.

Skylar Park and Bulgaria’s Kimia Alizadeh won the bronze medals. Alizadeh originally came from Iran, and won Youth Olympic gold in 2014 and bronze in Rio for her home country. In 2020, she defected Iran and, at the Tokyo Olympics, she represented the Refugee Olympic Team. In 2024, Alizadeh received Bulgarian citizenship and represented her new country at the Paris Olympics.