Skylar Park’s quest for an Olympic medal came to a dramatic conclusion as she stepped onto the mat for the bronze-medal match in women’s Taekwondo at the Paris Olympics.
The 25-year-old from Winnipeg faced off against Lebanon’s Laetitia Aoun in the 57 kg final, aiming to secure a spot on the podium after a hard-fought journey through the repechage round.
While the two martial artists were scoreless after the first of three rounds, Park, who finished ninth in the Tokyo 2020 Games, entered the final round-up 4-2 on her opponent, ultimately sealing the victory and a bronze medal.
Congrats to Skylar Park, Canada’s latest Olympic medal winner in Paris 🥋 🇨🇦pic.twitter.com/hrubhCcXuH
— Rob Williams (@RobTheHockeyGuy) August 8, 2024
After beginning her Olympics with a 2-0 win, the reigning Pan American Games champion advanced to the third-place match after beating Turkey’s Hatice Kubra Ilgan 2-0 in a repechage on Thursday.
Park had earlier lost her quarterfinal match to South Korea’s Kim Yujin, but Kim making it to the final gave Park another shot at a medal.
This is Canada’s third-ever podium finish for Taekwondo at the Olympics. Dominique Bosshart won a bronze medal when the sport was introduced at the 2000 Sydney Games. Karine Sergerie won silver in the 67 kg event at the 2008 Games.
With a silver from weightlifter Maude Charron and Park’s bronze added to the tally on Thursday, Canada’s medal count at the ongoing Olympics in Paris now stands at 21.