Heidy Marleny Juárez Guzmán (born May 14, 1977 in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

) is a Guatemalan

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

practitioner, who competed in the women's welterweight category. She picked up a total of eight medals in her career, including a silver from the

2007 Pan American Games The 2007 Pan American Games, officially known as the XV Pan American Games, were a major continental multi-sport event that took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from July 13 to 29, 2007. A total of 5,633 athletes from 42 National Olympic C ...

in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and a bronze from the

1995 World Taekwondo Championships The 1995 World Taekwondo Championships were the 12th edition of the World Taekwondo Championships, and were held in Manila, Philippines from November 17 to November 21, 1995, with 598 athletes participating from 77 countries. Medal summary Men ...

Manila, Philippines Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital city, capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is Cities of the Philippines#Independent cities, highly urbanize ...

, and finished fourth in the 67-kg division at the 2004 Summer Olympics, narrowly missing a chance to become Guatemala's first ever Olympic medalist in history. Juarez qualified for the Guatemalan squad in the women's welterweight class (67 kg) at the 2004 Summer Olympics in

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

, by placing second behind Puerto Rico's

Ineabelle Díaz Ineabelle Díaz Santana (born January 4, 1974, in Río Piedras) is a Puerto Rican taekwondo practitioner, who competed in the women's welterweight category. She picked up a total of ten medals in her career, including two from the World Taekwondo ...

and granting a berth from the Pan American Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Querétaro,

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. She opened her match with a superb 7–0 victory over Australia's Caroline Bartasek, before dropping a 4–6 decision to the local favorite

Elisavet Mystakidou Elisavet "Elli" Mystakidou ( el, Ελλη Μυστακίδου; born 14 August 1977 in Giannitsa) is a Greek taekwondo practitioner and Olympic medalist. She participated in the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens where she earned a silver medal in t ...

of Greece by the powerful commotion of the home crowd in the quarterfinals. In the repechage rounds, Juarez came strong from her premature exit to edge New Zealand's Verina Wihongi 4–1, and then yielded her revenge over Puerto Rican fighter

for a 5–2 victory to mount a chance for Guatemala's first ever Olympic medal, but she failed to salvage it in a 2–5 defeat to South Korea's Hwang Kyung-seon. At the

in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Juarez improved her feat from a fourth-place Olympic finish by picking up a silver medal in the women's 67-kg division, losing the final 2–8 to Canada's

Karine Sergerie Karine Sergerie (born February 1, 1985) is the 2007 world champion in women's lightweight (under 63 kg) taekwondo. She is Canada's first female world champion in the sport. Biography Sergerie was born in Sainte-Catherine, Quebec, Canada ...

References

External links

* * * * 1977 births Living people Guatemalan female taekwondo practitioners Olympic taekwondo practitioners for Guatemala Taekwondo practitioners at the 2004 Summer Olympics Pan American Games medalists in taekwondo Pan American Games gold medalists for Guatemala Pan American Games silver medalists for Guatemala Taekwondo practitioners at the 2007 Pan American Games Taekwondo practitioners at the 1999 Pan American Games Sportspeople from Guatemala City Medalists at the 1999 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2007 Pan American Games 20th-century Guatemalan women 21st-century Guatemalan women {{Taekwondo-bio-stub