Chen Zhong (; born November 22, 1982) is a retired Chinese

taekwondo ''Taekwondo'', ''Tae Kwon Do'' or ''Taekwon-Do'' (; ko, 태권도/跆拳道 ) is a Korean form of martial arts involving punching and kicking techniques, with emphasis on head-height kicks, spinning jump kicks, and fast kicking techniques. ...

competitor who represented her country at international level for more than 10 years, including three consecutive Summer Olympic Games. She won China's first Olympic gold medal in taekwondo at the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 ( Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from ...

in Sydney,Chen Zhong
''China Daily'' (30 July 2007). Retrieved on 22 April 2010.
(30 August 2004). Retrieved on 23 April 2010. and successfully defended her title at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens.Organising Committee for the Olympic Games, Athens (2004)
Taekwondo: Official results book
Retrieved on 22 April 2010.
(''c.'' 2005). Retrieved on 22 April 2010. She competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, but did not make it past the quarter-final round.

Early life

Chen was born on 22 November 1982 in

Jiaozuo Jiaozuo ( ; postal: Tsiaotso) is a prefecture-level city in the northwest of Henan province, China. Sitting on the northern bank of the Yellow River, it borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the south, Xinxiang to the east, Jiyuan to th ...

Henan Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is al ...

, People's Republic of China.Official Website of the Chinese Olympic Committee: Chen Zhong
(''c.'' 2004). Retrieved on 22 April 2010.Athlete's profile: Chen Zhong, Taekwondo
''Shanghai Daily'' (2008). Retrieved on 23 April 2010. She played basketball at the Jiaozuo Amateur Sport School for four years before changing to taekwondo in 1995. At first, she found the training difficult (she was required to execute more than 1,000 kicks each day) and would call her mother regularly.
''ABC Sport'' (25 July 2008). Retrieved on 22 April 2010. Chen doubted that she could continue but her mother told her to persevere, saying that if others could endure the programme, so could she. Chen was selected for the Chinese national taekwondo team in 1997.

Competitive taekwondo career

In the first two years of her international competitive career, Chen was Chinese national champion in her division, and took bronze at the

1997 East Asian Games The 2nd East Asian Games were held in Busan, South Korea from May 10 to May 19, 1997. Originally, the second edition of the East Asian Games was to be held in Pyongyang, North Korea, in September 1995. However, North Korea dropped the games due ...

Busan Busan (), officially known as is South Korea's most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.4 million inhabitants. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economic, cultural and educational center of southeastern South Korea ...

and silver at the 1998 Asian Championships in Ho Chi Minh City.Taekwondo Data: Chen, Zhong
(''c.'' 2008). Retrieved on 23 April 2010. She won a bronze medal in taekwondo at the

1998 Asian Games The 1998 Asian Games (), officially known as the 13th Asian Games and the XIII Asiad, was an Asian multi-sport event celebrated in Bangkok, Thailand from December 6 to 20, 1998, with 377 events in 36 sports and disciplines participated by 6,554 ...

in Bangkok. Aged 16 at the time, she refused to leave the competition mat for over an hour after losing the semi-final match. In 1999, she came third in her division at the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city anc ...

. In 2000, Chen graduated from the Beijing Sports School, and went on to study at

Beijing Sport University Beijing Sport University (BSU) (), formerly known as "Central Institute of Physical Education" () and "Beijing Institute of Physical Education" (), is a nation-level public university located in Beijing, China. It is one of the National Key Univ ...

. Leading up to the Olympic Games that year, she won gold at the 2000 Asian Championships in Hong Kong. Chen won the gold medal in the women's +67 kg (heavyweight) competition at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, defeating Natalia Ivanova from Russia. This was China's first Olympic gold medal in taekwondo. Chen continued performing at the highest levels of competition, taking first place at the 2001 World Cup in Ho Chi Minh City, second place at the 2001 World Championships in

Jeju City Jeju City ( ko, 제주시, Jeju-si; ) is the capital of the Jeju Province in South Korea and the largest city on Jeju Island. The city is served by Jeju International Airport ( IATA code CJU). Located on an island off the Korean Peninsula, Jej ...

, first place at the 2002 World Cup in Tokyo, and second place at the

2002 Asian Games The 2002 Asian Games ( ko, 2002년 아시아 경기대회/2002년 아시안 게임, Icheoni-nyeon Asia gyeonggi daehoe/Icheoni-nyeon Asian Geim), officially known as the XIV Asian Games ( ko, 제14회 아시아 경기대회/제14회 아시안 � ...

in Busan, all in the 72 kg division. In 2003, she came third at the

in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. In 2004, Chen successfully defended her Olympic title at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, defeating Myriam Baverel of France. Chen Liren was coaching her at this time. In 2005, due to sport-related injuries, Chen underwent surgery on her right knee.China Economic Net: Chen wins women's over 72 kg taekwondo gold
(11 December 2006). Retrieved on 23 April 2010. The following year, she won gold in her division at the

2006 Asian Games 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. In mathematics Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second small ...

Doha Doha ( ar, الدوحة, ad-Dawḥa or ''ad-Dōḥa'') is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor, it is home to most of the c ...

. The year after that, she took first place at the

in Beijing.Martial Arm: Chen Zhong kicks high
(2007). Retrieved on 23 April 2010.
''China Daily'' (23 May 2007). Retrieved on 23 April 2010. Leading up to the Summer Olympics in Beijing, Chen won her division at the 2008 Asian Championships in

Luoyang Luoyang is a city located in the confluence area of Luo River (Henan), Luo River and Yellow River in the west of Henan province. Governed as a prefecture-level city, it borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east, Pingdingshan to the ...

.China wins two gold medals at Asian Taekwondo Championships
''China Daily'' (28 April 2008). Retrieved on 23 April 2010. By this time, Zhang Jinghui (a former teammate) was coaching her. Given her dominant performance, Chen entered the Beijing Olympic campaign as a clear favourite to win a third consecutive Olympic gold medal.Harris, N. (2008)

''The Independent'' (24 August 2008). Retrieved on 23 April 2010.Smith, M. D. (2008)
Tae Kwon Do may steal some of Beijing spotlight
''New York Sun'' (7 August 2008). Retrieved on 23 April 2010 At the quarter-finals of the women's heavyweight taekwondo competition at the 2008 Summer Olympics, Chen fought Sarah Stevenson from Great Britain and was declared the winner, but British officials protested.Taekwondo preview: Chinese Chen Zhong kicking for taekwondo history
''Xinhuanet'' (22 August 2008). Retrieved on 23 April 2010.Reprieved Stevenson takes bronze
''BBC Sport'' (23 August 2008). Retrieved on 23 August 2008. They claimed that the referees missed a scoring kick by Stevenson; subsequent examination of video footage showed this to be true. Chen's victory was rescinded, and Stevenson advanced. This was the first time in Olympic taekwondo history that a result was changed.
''Fox News'' (24 August 2008). Retrieved on 23 April 2010. In the semi-final round, the British athlete lost to María del Rosario Espinoza (the eventual gold medallist), meaning that any opportunity for Chen to win a medal through

repechage Repechage (; french: repêchage, "fishing out, rescuing") is a practice in series competitions that allows participants who failed to meet qualifying standards by a small margin to continue to the next round. A well known example is the wild car ...

was gone.Chinese Chen no chance to gain Olympic Taekwondo medals
''People's Daily Online'' (23 August 2008). Retrieved on 23 April 2010. During most of her competitive career, Chen was listed at 180 cm (5' 11") in height and 72 kg (159 lb.) in weight. One of her training methods was to practise kicking a volleyball that had been thrown into the air. Around 2003, she held the rank of 3rd '' dan'' in taekwondo.Taekwondo Players: Olympic Taekwondo players
(''c.'' 2003). Retrieved on 22 April 2010.

Post-competition career

In the period leading up to the 2008 Summer Olympics, Chen had indicated that she would retire for taekwondo competition after the Olympic tournament. She said, "I'm a single girl who has wandered around for 10 years. My parents want me to settle down." She has described herself as introverted, and paints as a hobby.Chen claims world title, now sets sights on Olympic triple
''Shanghai Daily'' (23 May 2007). Retrieved on 23 April 2010.

Notes

a. Sarah Stevenson eventually won the bronze medal in the women's heavyweight taekwondo competition at the 2008 Summer Olympics; this was Great Britain's first Olympic taekwondo medal.Hodges, V. (2008)
Sarah Stevenson battles to Britain's first taekwondo medal following day of drama
''Telegraph'' (23 August 2008). Retrieved on 23 April 2010.British Taekwondo Control Board: Stevenson wins GB's first Olympic Taekwondo medal
(24 August 2008). Retrieved on 23 April 2010.

References

External links