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| Taekwondo at the Summer Olympics | |
|---|---|
 | |
| IOC Code | TKW |
| Governing body | World Taekwondo |
| Events | 8 (men: 4; women: 4) |
| Summer Olympics | |
| Note: demonstration or exhibition sport years indicated initalics | |
Taekwondo made its first appearance at the Olympics as a demonstration sport at the1988 Summer Olympics inSeoul, 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 the1992 Summer Olympics inBarcelona,Spain.[1] Taekwondo became a full medal sport at the2000 Summer Olympics inSydney,Australia, and has been a sport in the Olympic games since then.
| Games | Year | Events | Best Nation | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 | 1988 | 16 |  South Korea(1) | |
| 25 | 1992 | 16 | South Korea(2) | |
| 26 | ||||
| 27 | 2000 | 8 |  South Korea(3) | |
| 28 | 2004 | 8 |  Chinese Taipei(1) | |
| 29 | 2008 | 8 | South Korea(4) | |
| 30 | 2012 | 8 |  Spain(1) | |
| 31 | 2016 | 8 |  South Korea(5) | |
| 32 | 2020 | 8 |  ROC(1) | |
| 33 | 2024 | 8 | South Korea(6) | |
The quest to bring taekwondo to the Olympics began in 1974 in the United States when taekwondo was admitted into theAmateur Athletic Union (AAU).[2] One of the AAU's primary roles is to establish standards for various sports nationwide. TheWorld Taekwondo Federation's technical standards were adopted by the AAU Taekwondo group.
In 1975, taekwondo became an affiliate of theGeneral Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF).[2] The GAISF promotes cooperation among various international sports federations and works closely with the Olympics movement. Five years later, in 1980, the WTF was granted recognition by the IOC.[2] The following year, taekwondo was one of the primary events in theWorld Games,[2] an international competition specifically for non-Olympic events. In 1982, taekwondo was designated an official demonstration sport for the1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, Korea, and for the1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, Spain.[2]
In 1986 and 1987, taekwondo was included in the following international sporting events: World Cup (1986),Asian Games (1986),All-Africa Games (1986), and thePan American Games (1987).[2] In 1994, the IOC adopted taekwondo as an official Olympic sport for the2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia.[2]
For Olympic competition, there will be a single elimination tournament for each of the weight categories. The winner of the tournament final will receive the gold medal, and the loser will receive the silver medal while aRepechage competition will occur for the bronze medal contest.
Repechage: Single elimination in the morning session runs until the finalists have been decided. At this point, anyone who has lost to a finalist in the single elimination competition enters the repechage, the reasoning being that any one of these fighters might have been the 'third best' fighter, had they not come up against one of the top 2. "In the repechage, the losers of the semifinals during the elimination phase will be seeded directly to each of repechage finals, but on the opposite side of the bracket. Other losers will advance to the repechage unseeded, at the same side of the bracket in which they contested during the elimination phase." The athletes who lost to the two finalists in the round of 16 each face the athlete that lost to the same finalist in the quarterfinals; the winners of those contests face the athlete that lost to the same finalist in the semifinals. The two finalists of the repechage each receive a bronze medal.[3]
Up until the2012 Summer Olympics, a National Olympic Committee could only send a maximum of two men and two women competitors, without regard whether it is the host nation.[4] This restriction has been lifted for the2016 Summer Olympics, so each National Olympic Committee may now qualify one athlete per weight category.[5][6]
Medals are awarded in four differentweight classes for both men and women.
| Event | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|
| Flyweight | −58 kg | −49 kg |
| Featherweight | −68 kg | −57 kg |
| Middleweight | −80 kg | −67 kg |
| Heavyweight | +80 kg | +67 kg |
Updated after the2024 Summer Olympics.[7]
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Korea | 14 | 3 | 8 | 25 |
| 2 |  China | 7 | 2 | 4 | 13 |
| 3 |  Iran | 3 | 3 | 4 | 10 |
| 4 |  United States | 3 | 2 | 6 | 11 |
| 5 |  Great Britain | 2 | 4 | 4 | 10 |
| 6 |  Mexico | 2 | 2 | 3 | 7 |
 Thailand | 2 | 2 | 3 | 7 | |
| 8 |  Serbia | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 |
| 9 | Chinese Taipei | 2 | 1 | 6 | 9 |
| 10 |  Italy | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
| 11 | ROC(ROC) | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 12 |  Uzbekistan | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| 13 | Spain | 1 | 5 | 1 | 7 |
| 14 |  France | 1 | 3 | 6 | 10 |
 Turkey | 1 | 3 | 6 | 10 | |
| 16 |  Greece | 1 | 3 | 0 | 4 |
| 17 |  Cuba | 1 | 2 | 4 | 7 |
| 18 |  Jordan | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| 19 |  Azerbaijan | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
 Tunisia | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | |
| 21 |  Australia | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 22 |  Croatia | 1 | 0 | 5 | 6 |
| 23 |  Ivory Coast | 1 | 0 | 3 | 4 |
| 24 |  Argentina | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
 Hungary | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| 26 |  Russia | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| 27 |  Norway | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 28 |  Canada | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 29 |  Dominican Republic | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
 Germany | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| 31 |  Gabon | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
 Niger | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
 North Macedonia | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
 Vietnam | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 35 |  Egypt | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| 36 |  Brazil | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| 37 |  Afghanistan | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
 Venezuela | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | |
| 39 |  Belgium | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
 Bulgaria | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
 Colombia | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
 Denmark | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
 Israel | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
 Japan | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
 Kazakhstan | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
 Nigeria | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Totals (46 entries) | 56 | 56 | 96 | 208 | |
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| Summer sports | |
|---|---|
| Winter sports | |
| 2026 optional | |
| 2028 optional | |
| Past sports | |
| Demonstration sports | |
| Unofficial sports |
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