Park Tae-joon, a student in Kyung Hee University (KHU)’s Dept. of Taekwondo, made a remarkable debut at the Olympics by winning a gold medal in the Men’s 58-kilogram (kg) category. This victory is especially significant as it marks South Korea’s first gold medal in Men’s 58kg Olympic Taekwondo.

  The Paris 2024 Olympics, where Park’s triumph occurred, ran from July 26 to August 12. The Taekwondo matches took place between August 7 and 11, with the Men’s 58kg category competing during the first two days.

National Team Selection Match

  On February 1 this year, the national team selection match for the Paris 2024 Olympics was held at Jeju Halla Gymnasium. The matches were conducted in a tournament format for each weight division. Through various media outlets, Park expressed his strong determination to win, acknowledging that it would be difficult to maintain his skills until the next Olympics. However, his path to victory was uncertain?he had to face Jang Jun, a gold medalist at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games, who had defeated Park six times before, making him Park’s most formidable opponent.

  To counter Jang, Park, who is naturally right-footed, took the risk of putting his right foot forward during the match. To keep Jang from adjusting to this change, Park maintained his original left-footed sparring stance only in the first round. Additionally, Park focused on cultivating a positive mindset to perform at his best. 

  Park’s strategies proved successful. Contrary to most predictions that Jang would win easily, Park won both rounds and secured his spot at the Paris 2024 Olympics. Afterward, Park announced that he would concentrate on improving his physical strength and defense to prepare for the Olympics. He expressed his ambition to win a gold medal, carrying the pride of being a citizen of Taekwondo’s home country.

The First Gold Medal in 16 Years 

  Park’s first match in the Paris 2024 Olympics was against Yohandri Jose Granado Gonzalez, a national Taekwondo athlete from Venezuela. Winning both rounds with a decisive 12-0 score, Park swiftly advanced to the quarterfinal. In the quarterfinal, he faced Cyrian Ravet from France. Despite winning the first round, Park struggled in the second. However, he dramatically turned the tide with a series of successful back kicks and body attacks. Eventually, he edged out Ravet in the final round with a 5-4 victory, bringing himself closer to a medal.

  The semifinal match was anticipated to be Park’s toughest challenge: a showdown against Tunisian Taekwondo athlete Mohamed Khalil Jendoubi. Jendoubi, ranked as the world’s number one Taekwondo player in the Men’s 58kg category by World Taekwondo, had previously won a silver medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. However, Park, who fully prepared himself for the match, was not to be defeated. To counter Jendoubi’s height advantage in long-distance fighting, Park tactically closed the distance throughout the rounds, leading to a successful outcome.

  In the much-awaited final, Park competed against Gashim Magomedov, an Azerbaijani Taekwondo athlete. Park scored the first point as soon as the match began and continued to pressure his opponent with flank attacks. At one point during the fierce battle, Magomedov suffered an ankle injury while kicking with his left leg. Although he resumed the match, the referee declared Park’s victory by forfeit in the second round?a moment that forever changed Park’s career.

Park's Career

  Park began learning Taekwondo at the age of four, inspired by a childhood friend. Recognizing his talent, a Taekwondo master encouraged him to pursue a career as an athlete, and Park began training seriously in his fifth year of elementary school. In a past interview, he mentioned that the pure enjoyment he found in the intense battles fueled his motivation to train hard as a Taekwondo athlete. 

  Following his role model, Lee Dae-hoon, a former Korean national Taekwondo athlete, Park enrolled in Hanseong High School. To further his career, he joined the Dept. of Taekwondo at KHU in 2023. Park began gaining significant public recognition last June when he won a gold medal at his first World Taekwondo Championships. After 15 years of dedication to the sport, he achieved his ultimate goal by winning an Olympic gold medal, cementing his name in the minds of many.

  Park’s achievement at the Paris 2024 Olympics is more than just a personal victory; it is South Korea’s first Olympic gold medal in Men’s 58kg Taekwondo in 16 years. The media and public alike have praised Park for restoring national pride in Taekwondo as the birthplace of the sport. His journey to winning gold demonstrates that those who truly enjoy what they do are unstoppable. Despite past setbacks, his dedication and passion led him to smile in triumph on the stage of his dreams. Park, who has just begun to showcase his talent to the world, is expected to leave a lasting mark in the history of Korean Taekwondo.