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Taekwondo
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Event Description and Format |
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Taekwondo is new to the Olympics. It features four weight classes for
men and women -- flyweight, featherweight, welterweight and
heavyweight -- that range from 128-176 pounds for men and 108-148
pounds for women.
The competition runs from September 27-30 and takes place at the State
Sports Center.
Taekwondo has roots in ancient Korean martial arts and was created in
1957.
Points are scored by delivering strikes to specific areas on the opponent's
body -- the head, abdomen and the sides of the body. Strikes must be
made with the foot below the ankle or by the knuckles of the index and
middle fingers.
Full-point penalties, known as gam-jeom, include deliberate attacks to the
back and face or throwing an opponent. Half-point penalties, or
kyong-go, include holding, pushing, grabbing, turning your back to your
opponent or feigning injury.
A match consists of three three-minute rounds with one-minute breaks
between rounds. A contestant can win by knocking down an opponent for
10 seconds or by winning the most points.
If a contest is tied, the person who scored the most points other than
penalties is the winner. If there is still a tie, the referee decides the winner.
However, in the gold-medal match, a sudden-death round is contested. If
no point is scored, the referee decides the winner.
Tournaments are single elimination. The bronze medal is decided in a
single-elimination mini-tournament between those that lost to the finalists
before the semifinals and the losers of the semifinals.
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