TAEKWONDO

Taekwondo is a combat sport which means “the way of kicking and punching.”

At the Summer Olympics Taekwondo made its first appearance as a demonstration sport at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. The opening ceremony featured a mass demonstration of taekwondo with hundreds of adults and children performing moves in unison. Taekwondo was again a demonstration sport at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics but it  became a full medal sport at the Sydney 2000 Games and has been consistently in the Olympics since then.

Medals are awarded in four different weight classes for both men and women.  Flyweight -58kg Men / -49kg Women, Featherweight -68kg / -57kg, Middleweight -80kg / -67kg and Heavyweight +80kg / +67kg.

For Olympic competition, there is a single elimination tournament for each of the weight categories. The winner of the tournament final receives the gold medal, and the loser receives the silver medal while a Repechage competition is conducted for the bronze medal contest.  For this, anyone who loses to a finalist in the single elimination competition enters the repechage.

The aim of taekwondo is for the athlete to kick and punch the opponent, while avoiding being kicked and punched. Points are calibrated: The most challenging techniques, such as spinning kicks to the head, score higher than punches and basic kicks to the trunk. Tactics also come into play, as penalties are awarded against those players who fall, or who exit the matted area. 

Matches are fought on a matted octagonal field of play, which encourages lively footwork and evasive movement, while demanding good use of peripheral vision. Matches consist of three rounds of two minutes each, with one-minute breaks between rounds.

The Irish Taekwondo Union (ITU) are the National Governing Body for Olympic Style Taekwondo in Ireland. They are a member of the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) and European Taekwondo Union.  The ITU aim to provide a fair and transparent pathway to athlete development and participation in World and Olympic and to promote and develop Taekwondo throughout Ireland.

They are the only organisation in Ireland who are mandated to provide the WTF Global Athlete Licence which is required to participate in WTF and Olympic Competition.

Ireland qualified an athlete for the Olympic Games for the first time in 2019 when Jack Woolley gained a named athlete spot for Tokyo 2020.

Today, taekwondo is practised by an estimated 80 million people in more than 200 countries and territories, administered by five Continental Unions (Africa, Asia, Europe, Pan America and Oceania), making it one of the world’s most popular sports.

National Federation: Irish Taekwondo Union

International Federation: World Taekwondo Federation

TAEKWONDO NEWS

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In the 24 years of Team Ireland competing at the European Youth Olympic Festival – Ireland has had significant success. There have been 72 medals won by Irish athletes in that time, and the most successful Games for Team Ireland was in Tibilisi in 2015, with a total of ten medals being spread across athletics [...]

In The News – May 26th

Team Ireland Round-Up | Medals, Records, and Milestones Across Europe and the U.S.    ATHLETICS | Gidey’s Breakthrough, Healy Shines, English and Coscoran Impress  Efrem Gidey made history on Saturday evening in Pacé, France, becoming the first Irish athlete to win individual gold at the European 10,000m Cup. The 24-year-old surged ahead with just over [...]

DAY 12 EVENING REPORT FROM TEAM IRELAND

Irish track star Rhasidat Adeleke finished second in her semi-final of the women’s 400m to advance to her first ever Olympic final on Friday night. In doing so Adeleke becomes the first Irish woman ever to make a sprint final at an Olympic Games. In Taekwondo in the repechage round Jack Woolley put in an improved performance, but ultimately [...]

SELECTED ATHLETES

Jack Woolley

BIOGRAPHY Two time Olympian, Jack Woolley was pipped by just a point in the final qualifier for the Rio Olympics when he was just 17. He made history in Tokyo 2020 as Ireland’s first Olympian in Taekwondo and finished 11th overall after narrowly losing out to Argentina’s Lucas Gomez in his first match. In 2022 [...]

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