Pascal Gentil (born 15 May 1973 in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

) is a French

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. ...

practitioner. A three-time winner of the European Championships, four-time World Cup Champion and Olympic bronze medallist 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 and at the 2004 Summer Olympics in

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh List ...

, Pascal Gentil is the most decorated taekwondo practitioner in French taekwondo history. The S Class International Olympic Referee Dr.

Mohamed Riad Ibrahim Dr. Mohamed Riad Ibrahim (born October 26, 1955, in Cairo, Egypt) is a taekwondo international referee who participated in the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece and the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia. Biography Ibrahim started i ...

was the Referee in the Final Match of Pascal Gentil in the 2004 Summer Olympic in Athens, and in this Match Pascal Gentil Won the bronze medal. Captain of the French taekwondo team, Pascal Gentil won his third European title in October 2005 in

Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the B ...

giving the French team a second position among the European countries behind Turkey with 6 medals including 3 titles. The ranking is the same as for the Athens Games with 2 medals (1 silver, 1 bronze) as France finished as 2nd best European country behind Greece (host country). To prepare for the Olympics, the French Taekwondo Federation set up training centres by grouping together in different locations the best French athletes according to weight categories. Pascal Gentil is a member of

Institut National des Sports et de l'Éducation Physique INSEP, the National Institute of Sport, Expertise, and Performance (Institut national du sport, de l'expertise et de la performance), is a French training institute and center for excellence in sports that trains elite athletes. It is located on th ...

France Training Centre where he trains an average of 20 hours per week together with the best French taekwondo practitioners. He was selected for the Beijing Games to snatch the gold medal. His opponent for the selection was Mickaël Borot who obtained the French quota in the category by winning the Olympic qualification tournament in Manchester in 2007.Gentil plutôt que Borot
, site d'

eurosport Eurosport is a group of pay television networks in Europe and parts of Asia. Owned by Warner Bros. Discovery through its international sports unit, it operates two main channels— Eurosport 1 and Eurosport 2—across most of its territorie ...

, consulté le 2 août 2008 However, during a training session on the 25 July 2008, Pascal sustained an injury (a rupture of the plantar aponeurosis). Mickaël Borot was officially appointed the representative on 6 August by the

FFTDA French Federation of Taekwondo and Related Disciplines ( is an "" which aims to organize on the French territory the practice of taekwondo, hapkido, tang soo do and Soo Bahk Do since 1995. It is affiliated with European federations and organiz ...

（French Taekwondo Federation. The event lead to a crisis week for French taekwondo as Mickaël Borot criticised the French Taekwondo Federation and Pascal Gentil.Mickaël Borot veut sortir de l'ombre de Pascal Gentil
, site mon-dojang, consulté le 6 août On 5 February 2009 he announced to the press that he would give up his sport career in taekwondo after the French Championships in Lyon on 7 February.Pascal Gentil met un terme à sa carrière sportive
, site mon-dojang In Lyon, he obtained his 14th French Champion title after defeating Mickaël Borot in the final.

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* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gentil, Pascal 1973 births Living people French male taekwondo practitioners Olympic bronze medalists for France Olympic medalists in taekwondo Taekwondo practitioners at the 2000 Summer Olympics Taekwondo practitioners at the 2004 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics World Taekwondo Championships medalists European Taekwondo Championships medalists ESSEC Business School alumni French people of Guadeloupean descent Sportspeople from Paris 20th-century French people 21st-century French people