Guillermo Pérez Sandoval (born October 14, 1979) is a Mexican

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. T ...

practitioner and

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...

winner. Pérez stands at 171 cm and weighs 58 kg. At the

2008 Olympic Games The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

Beijing, China } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

, Pérez won the gold medal in the −58 kg category. Pérez defeated Dominican

Gabriel Mercedes Yulis Gabriel Mercedes Reyes (born November 12, 1979 in Monte Plata, Monte Plata Province) is a Dominican taekwondo practitioner and Olympic medalist. He won a silver medal in the – 58 kg class at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijin ...

on August 20, 2008. The match ended 1–1 after four rounds, but Pérez was deemed superior by unanimous decision.

Early life and education

Pérez started practicing taekwondo when he was 5 years old, citing

Bruce Lee Bruce Lee (; born Lee Jun-fan, ; November 27, 1940 – July 20, 1973) was a Hong Kong and American martial artist and actor. He was the founder of Jeet Kune Do, a hybrid martial arts philosophy drawing from different combat disciplines that ...

films as his inspiration. By the age of 10, Pérez won his first state tournament in Michoacán. Such success was the gate to compete nationally, earning a bronze medal in his first national competition. In 1989, he achieved first place at the national infant competition. In 1995 he traveled to

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

to assist his first international competition, placing second. Later on in 1996, he was the first-place winner at the Taekwondo U.S. Open, in which more than 60 countries participated.

Career

Mexico National Team

Pérez moved to

Puebla Puebla ( en, colony, settlement), officially Free and Sovereign State of Puebla ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Puebla), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 217 municipalities and its cap ...

in 1999 to train with the Olympic champion William de Jesús, who helped give 20-year-old Pérez the experience to get into the national team after unsuccessfully trying to enter it before. He finally became part of the Mexico taekwondo team that traveled to the

Pan American Games The Pan American Games (also known colloquially as the Pan Am Games) is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas featuring summer sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The competition is held ...

of 1999 in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

, Manitoba, Canada. In April 2005, he traveled to

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

to compete in the 2005 World Taekwondo Championships, placing ninth. Three years later, he won second place at the

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Open, which gave him the opportunity to participate in the Beijing

2007 World Taekwondo Championships The 2007 World Taekwondo Championships were the 18th edition of the World Taekwondo Championships, and were held in Beijing, China from May 18 to May 22, 2007. Medal summary Men Women Medal table Team ranking Men Women Referen ...

in the flyweight (−58 kg) category. There, Pérez won the silver medal, losing to

Juan Antonio Ramos Juan Antonio Ramos Sánchez (born 18 August 1976 in Barcelona) is a Spanish taekwondo practitioner. He is a two-time world champion, winning the finweight title in 1997 and the flyweight title in 2007. He also competed for Spain at the ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

in the final.

Gold Medal

Earning the gold medal put Pérez among a select few for Mexico, giving the feat historical importance. His win marked only the third gold medal for Mexico since the

2000 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 1 ...

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

, and the first for a male since the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the secon ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, the 11th gold medal ever for Mexico, and the country's 53rd overall Olympic medal.Gana México oro en Taekwondo
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Perez, Guillermo 1978 births Mexican male taekwondo practitioners Taekwondo practitioners at the 2008 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for Mexico Olympic taekwondo practitioners for Mexico People from Uruapan Sportspeople from Michoacán Living people Olympic medalists in taekwondo Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics World Taekwondo Championships medalists 21st-century Mexican people