One of the last sports to get under way at the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, taekwondo is also one of the most recent additions to the Olympic programme, making its entrance as a full medal sport only in 2000, featuring four weight categories for men and four for women.

 

As befits the nation that gave the sport to the world, South Korea was the outstanding country in the inaugural competition in Sydney, winning three gold medals and a silver. Considering it was allowed to enter only four athletes, including men’s heavyweight champion Kim Kyong-hun and women’s welterweight winner Lee Sun-hee, this was quite an achievement.

 

 Kyong-Hun KIM    Sun Hee LEE 

 

South Korea’s third gold medallist in Sydney, Jun Jae-eun, won the final of the women’s featherweight competition against Tran Hieu Nga, who became the first Vietnamese athlete ever to earn an Olympic medal. Ngan, whose father had died two months before the Olympic Games, came from the small fishing village of Tuy Hoa, where her family ran a sweetshop.

 

The men’s featherweight title in Sydney went to American Steven Lopez, the son of Nicuraguan immigrants, who went on to capture his second gold medal four years later in Athens, at welterweight. Prior to these Games, Lopez was the only man to have won two Olympic taekwondo gold medals, an achievement equalled among the women by China’s Chen Zhong, who won the first two Olympic heavyweight titles.

 

 Zhong CHEN 
 

One of the stories of the Athens Games surrounded Taiwan. Chen Shih-hsien, in winning at flyweight, became Taiwan’s first Olympic gold medallist in any sport, and just 20 minutes later her compatriot Chu Mu-yen took gold in the men’s flyweight. And as if that was not enough, less than four months after the Games, men’s featherweight silver medallist Huang Chih-hsiung was elected to the Taiwanese parliament.

 

The man who beat Huang to the gold in Athens was Hadi Saei Bonehkohal of Iran, who had won a bronze medal at featherweight in the 2000 Games. Early in 2004 he gave his bronze medal away to be auctioned to raise money for the survivors of an earthquake the previous year that had devastated his home town of Bam. Justice of a sort was therefore done when his bronze medal was replaced with gold.

 

Swimming has been an exciting part of the Beijing Summer Games, but now that it’s over, we’re having withdrawal symptoms. So we tracked down Australian swimmer Eamon Sullivan before he was scheduled to swim his last event - the 4x100 medley relay. In this relay, his team grabbed the silver - second only to the US and Michael Phelps, who won his record-breaking eighth gold medal.  We asked him a couple of questions about himself.

 

What’s been the highlight of the Summer Games for you so far?
Breaking the world record in the semis for the 100m freestyle and getting a silver medal in the finals. Also, winning the bronze medal in 4x100m freestyle relay.

 

Why are the Olympic Games so important?
It’s the one time every four years that everyone competes, the best of the best. It’s where champions are made and where legends are told. It’s just an amazing thing to experience.

 

Is this your first time to Beijing?
Yeah. I’ve been to Shanghai before, but never Beijing. I think it’s great, and the weather the last couple of days has been really sunny. I’m just excited to get out there and see the city.

 

Have you done any sightseeing yet?
Not yet, but I will. Seeing the Wall I think will be good and going to the markets, just trying to experience the culture and nightlife.

 

What’s your favourite event to watch?
I always enjoy the heavyweight weightlifting. It’s fun to watch the guys lift that incredible amount of weight. But as far as excitement goes, I think swimming is the most enjoyable to watch for me.

 

 

The IOC Disciplinary Commission held a hearing today in relation to the adverse analytical finding regarding Ms Liudmyla Blonska. The A and B sample analysis were positive for the substance Methyltestosterone.

At the end of the hearing, in accordance with the applicable rules, the Chairman of the Disciplinary Commission decided to provisionally suspend Ms Liudmyla Blonska from all competitions with immediate effect and to provisionally cancel her accreditation, until the final decision has been pronounced by the IOC Executive Board.

 

The full text of the decision is available here:

 

 IOC Disciplinary Commission decision

 

Moon Dae-Sung, Republic of Korea (taekwondo), Alexander Popov, Russia (swimming), Claudia Bokel, Germany (fencing), and Yumilka Ruiz–Luaces, Cuba (volleyball), have been elected to the Athletes’ Commission of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) by their peers at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games for a term of eight years. During this period, they will also serve as IOC members, bringing the athletes' voice right to the heart of the Olympic Movement. The announcement was made today at Beijing’s Olympic Village by Anita L. DeFrantz, Chairwoman of the Election Committee and IOC member. The election has been held over the past 15 days in the Olympic Villages in Beijing, Hong Kong and Qingdao, as well as at the remote football venues.

Moon Dae-Sung was elected with 3,220 votes, followed by Alexander Popov, with 1,903 votes, Claudia Bokel  with 1,836 votes and Ruiz–Luaces Yumilka with 1,571 votes. The new members will be officially introduced at the Closing Ceremony of the Games of the XXIX Olympiad in Beijing on 24 August.

7,830 athletes – 71.6 per cent of all eligible voters - chose from among 29 candidates from as many countries. The votes had to be cast for four different athletes from four different sports. The record participation was higher than four years ago in Athens, where 54.5 per cent of the athletes voted.

 

All the candidate athletes had to be presented by their National Olympic Committee, which was required to have a properly formed Athletes’ Commission that selected the candidate. In order to be eligible, the candidates had to be 18 years or older on 24 August 2008, have participated either in the Olympic Games in Athens in 2004 or in Beijing in 2008, and never been found guilty of a doping offence during their sports career.

Following the announcement, Anita DeFrantz stated: "All four winners can contribute with an enormous amount of experience to the important work of the Athletes’ Commission. The Commission really is a unique and very efficient link between active athletes and the IOC."

On 4 August, well-known Namibian sprinter Frank Fredericks was elected as the new Chairman of the IOC Athletes' Commission, for a two-year term. Fredericks, who won silver in the 100m and 200m sprints at both the 1992 Games in Barcelona and Atlanta in 1996, succeeds Sergey Bubka.

The IOC Athletes’ Commission upholds the rights, expertise and obligations of the athletes, and meets regularly – as well as with the IOC Executive Board, to which it issues recommendations. The Commission has 19 members, including active and retired athletes. Twelve are elected for eight years by the athletes competing in the Olympic Games, and up to seven athletes are appointed by the IOC President to ensure a balance between regions, genders and sports.

The Commission also includes one representative of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and one representative of the World Olympians Association (WOA). The Commission works on important topics where its members’ expertise is essential. Examples include education for athletes and preparation for their professional lives after their sporting career, and increasing women's participation in sport. Athletes’ Commission members are also represented in nearly every other IOC commission.

 

 Learn more about the IOC Athletes' Commission

 

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Rohullan Nikipai gave Afghanistan its first ever medal when he won the Taekwondo men's under 58kg bronze medal in Beijing on Wednesday, 20 August 2008. He is 21 years old.

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