In this article, we will delve into the topic of Taekwondo at the 2008 Summer Olympics – Men's 80 kg, which has aroused great interest and debate in different areas. Taekwondo at the 2008 Summer Olympics – Men's 80 kg is a topic that has become the focus of attention of experts, academics and specialists in the field, due to its relevance and impact in different sectors. Over the last decades, Taekwondo at the 2008 Summer Olympics – Men's 80 kg has been acquiring greater importance and relevance, generating endless questions and concerns about its influence on today's society. In this article, we will analyze in detail and exhaustively the different facets of Taekwondo at the 2008 Summer Olympics – Men's 80 kg, with the aim of providing a complete and well-founded overview of this topic.
Men's 80 kg at the Games of the XXIX Olympiad | |||||||||||||||||
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Venue | Beijing Science and Technology University Gymnasium | ||||||||||||||||
Date | 22 August 2008 | ||||||||||||||||
Competitors | 16 from 16 nations | ||||||||||||||||
Medalists | |||||||||||||||||
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Taekwondo at the 2008 Summer Olympics | ||
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Qualification | ||
Men | Women | |
58 kg | 49 kg | |
68 kg | 57 kg | |
80 kg | 67 kg | |
+80 kg | +67 kg | |
The men's 80 kg competition in taekwondo at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing took place on August 22 at the Beijing Science and Technology University Gymnasium.
The main bracket consisted of a single-elimination tournament, culminating in the gold medal match. Two bronze medals were awarded at the taekwondo competitions. A repechage was used to determine the bronze medal winners. Every competitor who lost to one of the two finalists competed in the repechage, another single-elimination competition. Each semifinal loser faced the last remaining repechage competitor from the opposite half of the bracket in a bronze medal match.
All times are China standard time (UTC+8)
Date | Time | Round |
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Friday, 22 August 2008 | 11:00 16:00 17:30 20:30 |
Preliminary round Quarterfinals Semifinals Final |
Preliminary round | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Gold medal match | ||||||||||||||||
1 | Lionel Baguissi (GAB) | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
16 | Carlos Vásquez (VEN) | 5 | |||||||||||||||||
Carlos Vásquez (VEN) | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
Aaron Cook (GBR) | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||
8 | Aaron Cook (GBR) | 7 | |||||||||||||||||
9 | Anju Jason (MHL) | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
Aaron Cook (GBR) | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||
Mauro Sarmiento (ITA) | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||
5 | Bahri Tanrıkulu (TUR) | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
12 | Steven López (USA) | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
Steven López (USA) | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||
Mauro Sarmiento (ITA) | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
4 | Mauro Sarmiento (ITA) | 4 | |||||||||||||||||
13 | Sebastien Konan (CIV) | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
Mauro Sarmiento (ITA) | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||
Hadi Saei (IRI) | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||
6 | Abdulqader Hikmat Sarhan (QAT) | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
11 | Rashad Ahmadov (AZE) | 5 | |||||||||||||||||
Rashad Ahmadov (AZE) | 0 (SUP) | ||||||||||||||||||
Sébastien Michaud (CAN) | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||
3 | Sébastien Michaud (CAN) | 2 | |||||||||||||||||
14 | Ángel Román (PUR) | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
Rashad Ahmadov (AZE) | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||
Hadi Saei (IRI) | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||
7 | Miguel Ferrera (HON) | 1 | |||||||||||||||||
10 | Zhu Guo (CHN) | 3 | |||||||||||||||||
Zhu Guo (CHN) | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||
Hadi Saei (IRI) | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||
2 | Deepak Bista (NEP) | 0 | |||||||||||||||||
15 | Hadi Saei (IRI) | 7 |
Round 1 | Bronze medal match | |||||
Zhu Guo (CHN) | 6 | Zhu Guo (CHN) | 4 | |||
Deepak Bista (NEP) | 2 | Aaron Cook (GBR) | 1 | |||
Sebastien Konan (CIV) | 0 | Rashad Ahmadov (AZE) | 2 | |||
Steven López (USA) | 3 | Steven López (USA) | 3 | |||
An incident in the men's 80 kg competition may prove to have a more lasting impact on the sport. American Steven López, the two-time defending gold medalist in that class who had not lost a match since 2002, had one point taken away by the referee in the third period of his quarterfinal match against Italy's Mauro Sarmiento. The referee determined that Lopez had used an illegal "cut kick" (blocked an opponent's blow below the waist). The deduction turned Lopez' 2–1 lead to a 1–1 tie, and Lopez lost in sudden-death overtime. Team USA's team leader, Herb Perez, unsuccessfully protested the decision, asserting that Lopez had raised his left leg in defense and Sarmiento had kicked into the leg in an attempt to draw the deduction.
In the wake of the decision, Perez leveled serious charges against the sport's governing body, the World Taekwondo Federation:
Charles Robinson, a writer for Yahoo! Sports in the U.S., called the events surrounding Lopez' match "a chaotic episode that might ultimately prove to be the tipping point to Olympic doom", adding that it had been widely rumored that taekwondo was on the brink of being removed from the Olympic program.