Profile of Olympic TKD competitors

A profile of Olympic Taekwondo competitors

M. Kazemi, J. Waalen, Ch. Morgan, and A. White

Journal of Sports Science and Medicine (2006) 5 (CSSI), 114 - 121

The purpose of this study was to identify the profile of the Olympic champions and the other competitors who were involved in the Games. One hundred and two Taekwondo athletes competed (54 males and 48 females) in the Games.

Conclusions. Of 16 male winners, the mean average age as 24.4 years and the BMI (Body Mass Index) as 21.9, compared to 25.2 years and 22.8  for the 38 male non-winners. Of the 16 female winners, the mean average age was 24.9 years and the BMI was 20.8, compared to 24.9 years and 21.3 ± for the 32 female non-winners. For all four types of athletes, offensive kicks accounted for at least 52% of the techniques to score a point and 98% of all techniques used to score were kicks. Although not statistically significant, winners overall tended to be younger in age and taller with slightly lower BMI than their weight category average.