Taekwondo Preview

Taekwondo makes its Paralympic debut this summer at the Paralympic Games in Tokyo, and Evan Medell and Brianna Salinaro will be there representing Team USA. The American duo earned their Paralympic berths based on their world rankings at the end of the 2019. Medell competes in the men’s K44 +75 kg. category and is currently No. 1 in the world in his class, while Salinaro is in the women’s K44 58 kg. class and ranks No. 4.

The first Para taekwondo world championships were held in 2009, and the event has grown in participation across the years since. The first efforts to get taekwondo on the Paralympic program began in 2010, aiming for the Rio Games. World Taekwondo joined the International Paralympic Committee in 2013 and again made a bid for the Paralympic program in Tokyo. Finally in 2015, the sport was accepted. Taekwondo is relatively new to the Olympic program as well, being held since 2000.

 

Taekwondo itself is also a relatively new martial art, in comparison to sports like karate and judo. There are two forms of taekwondo, but only one will be contested on the Paralympic program. Kyorugi, also known as sparring, pits two athletes against each other. Rules are basically the same as Olympic taekwondo, but kicks to the head are not allowed. Fighters win points based on the difficulty of the moves they execute. Matches last for two three-minute rounds. Athletes are placed into four classifications based on their level of ability, but only one class will be contested in Tokyo.

 

While taekwondo has no Paralympic history, a few countries have emerged throughout the world championship history as contenders. Iran, Mongolia, Turkey and Russia have all been strong performers, but the sport has produced world champions from around the world. Nearly 70 different nations competed at the most recent world championships in 2019.

Updated on July 19, 2021. For more information, contact the sport press officer.

Will the youth movement continue at the Games? The 2019 world championships saw some of the sport’s brightest young stars step up and knock off some of its legendary veterans. Both of Team USA’s Paralympians are in their early 20s and are part of that next generation of fighters.

Both Evan Medell and Brianna Salinaro had the luxury of knowing they already had their Tokyo spots locked up before the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted Olympic and Paralympic competition around the world. During the pandemic each athlete checked off another major milestone by graduating from college.
Evan Medell already has a history of success in debut events. He won the gold medal at the Parapan American Games Lima 2019, where the sport was held for the first time. The victory another the latest milestone for the 24-year-old Medell in what Paralympic.org calls “the sport’s most competitive division.” He also won a bronze medal at the 2017 world championships, his first appearance in that competition. Medell has competed in taekwondo since 2008. 

Brianna Salinaro was the first woman to represent Team USA in Para taekwondo and also the first taekwondo athlete with cerebral palsy to fight on the world stage. The 23-year-old Salinaro competed in her second world championships in 2019, where she reached the round of 16. Two years earlier she won a world bronze medal at world championships. Salinaro has undergone surgery to repair torn labrums on both her left and right hips in September 2020 and January 2021, but reports feeling stronger than ever heading into Tokyo.
September 2, 2021: Paralympic competition gets underway with women’s 49 kg. and men’s 61 kg.
September 3, 2021: Women’s 58 kg. and men’s 75 kg.
September 4, 2021: Women’s +58 kg. and men’s +75 kg.