Taekwondo returns for the 2024 Paris Games. Read on the learn about the competition format that will be used during the Olympic tournaments.
What taekwondo weight classes will be contested at Paris 2024?
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Olympic taekwondo features tournaments for eight different weight classes — four for men, four for women. The breakdown is as follows:
Men's Taekwondo
Flyweight (58kg/128 lbs)
Featherweight (68kg/150 lbs)
Welterweight (80kg/176 lbs)
Heavyweight (80+kg/176+ lbs)
Women's Taekwondo
Flyweight (49kg/108 lbs)
Featherweight (57kg/126 lbs)
Welterweight (67kg/148 lbs)
Heavyweight (67+kg/148+ lbs)
How many taekwondo athletes compete in each Olympic weight class?
Each weight class will feature 16 athletes in the bracket. In total, 128 athletes (64 men, 64 women) will compete in taekwondo at the Paris Games.
How is the Olympic taekwondo tournament structured?
The competition starts with the Round of 16 and proceeds to the quarterfinals, semifinals and final. For the most part, the tournament is single elimination, with one key exception: Any athlete who loses to one of the two finalists gets pulled into the repechage (explained in more detail below) for a chance at winning a bronze medal.
In a change for Paris 2024, each match will be decided by a best-of-three format. (For more details, check out our article on Olympic taekwondo rules.)
What are repechage matches in Olympic taekwondo?
Each of the two finalists will have defeated three athletes en route to the gold medal match: one in the Round of 16, one in the quarterfinals, and one in the semifinals. The athletes who lost in the Round of 16 and quarterfinals will face each other in a repechage match. The winner of that repechage match advances to a bronze medal match against the athlete who lost in the semifinals.
This process happens for both finalists, so there will be two separate bronze medal matches and therefore two bronze medals awarded.