Taekwondo Olympic sports London 2012

The first week of competition in the London Prepares series events saw international Boxing, Table Tennis and Fencing come to ExCeL, testing workforce, field of play, lighting, results and scoring.

After a few days turnaround – emulating the exact same amount of time arenas will have at Games time – Judo and Taekwondo took their turn in the spotlight.

During the final weekend of competition, and after another tight turnaround of the arenas, Weightlifting and Wrestling events took centre stage in ExCeL. The transition of the field of play from Judo into Wrestling was a key testing element, which took less than half the time than previously predicted.

Debbie Jevans said: ‘This multi-sport venue is one of the most important and exciting Olympic venues and will be a hub of sporting activity at Games time, accommodating seven sports during the Olympic Games and six during the Paralympics, second only to the Olympic Park.

‘The task of hosting so many sports in one venue was put to the test, delivering seven international sporting events over three consecutive weeks, and I’m pleased with the outcomes. We learnt some lessons that will further inform our operational planning for the Games.’

Taekwondo translates into English as 'the art of foot and fist' – and it is exactly that, a battle of kicks and punches.
The protagonists compete on a mat inside a eight-by-eight-metre zone, over three rounds of two minutes. The aim is to land accurate kicks and punches on the scoring area of their opponent.
A kick or punch to your opponent’s torso scores one point, an additional point is awarded if the attacker has his back to his opponent at the point of contact - so spinning kicks score two points. Punches to the head are illegal, but kicks score three points. To be valid, shots must be of sufficient force. If the scores are level after three rounds, a fourth “sudden death” round is held to determine the winner.
The 64 fighters in each gender and 16 in each weight category, who compete in a straight knockout tournament with the final two playing for gold and silver. All fighters who lose to one of the two finalists enter another tournament to earn a chance to play the defeated semi-finalists for one of the two bronze medals.
Events / disciplines
Men’s 58kg
Men’s 68kg
Men’s 80kg
Men’s +80kg
Women’s 49kg
Women’s 57kg
Women’s 67kg
Women’s +67kg
Gold medals available
8