Nina Solheim (born 4 August 1979) is a

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe *Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway *Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including the ...

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. She won a silver medal in the women's heavyweight (+67 kg) division at the

2008 Summer Olympics 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 ...

in Beijing, beaten by Mexican María del Rosario Espinoza in the final. She also qualified and competed in the women's middleweight (67 kg) division at the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

in Athens. She lost in the quarterfinals against Luo Wei of China after injuring her knee. In addition to a bronze medal from the

2001 World Taekwondo Championships The 2001 World Taekwondo Championships were the 15th edition of the World Taekwondo Championships, and were held in Jeju, South Korea from November 1 to November 7, 2001. Medal summary Men Women Medal table Team ranking Men Women R ...

Jeju Jeju may refer to: * Jeju Island (Jejudo), an island near South Korea * Jeju Province (formerly transliterated Cheju), a province of South Korea comprising Jejudo **Jeju City, the biggest city on Jejudo **Jeju dog, a dog native to Jejudo ** Jeju l ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

, Solheim won the gold medal in middleweight (72 kg) at the 2006 World Cup in

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estima ...

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

. Solheim is a well known athlete in Norway. She was born in South Korea, and at the age of seven months, she and her twin sister Mona were adopted by Norwegian parents, growing up in

Namsos ( sma, Nåavmesjenjaelmie) is a municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. It is part of the Namdalen region. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Namsos. Some of the villages in the municipality include Bangsund, Kl ...

References

External links

Official website
1979 births Living people Norwegian female taekwondo practitioners Norwegian people of Korean descent Taekwondo practitioners at the 2004 Summer Olympics Taekwondo practitioners at the 2008 Summer Olympics Olympic taekwondo practitioners of Norway Olympic silver medalists for Norway People from Namsos Olympic medalists in taekwondo Twin sportspeople Norwegian twins Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Norwegian adoptees South Korean adoptees South Korean emigrants to Norway European Taekwondo Championships medalists World Taekwondo Championships medalists 21st-century Norwegian women {{Norway-taekwondo-bio-stub