Sonia Reyes Sáez (born 30 October 1977) is a Spanish taekwondo practitioner, who competed in the women's featherweight category. She was born in

Guadalajara Guadalajara ( , ) is a metropolis in western Mexico and the capital of the list of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population of 1,385,629 people, making it the 7th largest city by population in Me ...

. Considered one of the world's top favorites in her respective category, Reyes picked up a total of five medals in her career, including three bronze from the World Taekwondo Championships, and finished fourth in the 57-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), ...

. Throughout her sporting career, Reyes trained full-time for Club Sung Dae Kwan in Madrid, under head coach and master Song Dae-young. Reyes started her taekwondo career by becoming a bronze medalist in the 51-kg division at the 1992 European Junior Championships in Paris, France. Seven years later, she picked up another bronze on her first senior stint in the podium at the World Championships in Edmonton, Canada. Although she failed to earn a spot on the Spanish team to 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 1 ...

, Reyes continued to achieve remarkable results and yield more medals in her career list, including a silver from the European Championships in

Patras, Greece ) , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 = , demographics1_info2 = , timezone1 = EET , utc_offset1 = +2 , ...

, losing the final to Dutch fighter Virginia Lourens. At the

in Athens, Reyes qualified for the Spanish taekwondo squad in the women's featherweight class (57 kg) by granting a berth and placing first in the final match against Russia's Margarita Mkrtchyan from the European Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Baku, Azerbaijan. She opened her match with a marvelous 11–2 victory over Poland's Aleksandra Uścińska, before narrowly losing the quarterfinal to South Korean taekwondo jin and world-ranked no. 2 Jang Ji-won at 2–3. In the repechage rounds, Reyes came from behind to dispatch Ivory Coast's

Mariam Bah Mariam Bah (born 6 July 1976) is a two-time Olympic taekwondo competitor and a multiple-time medalist at the African Taekwondo Championships from Côte d'Ivoire. She first competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, where she had an honor of ...

(5–0) and Thailand's

Nootcharin Sukkhongdumnoen Nootcharin Sukkhongdumnoen ( th, นุชจรินทร์ สุขคงดำเนิน; born February 10, 1978 in Bangkok) is a Thai taekwondo practitioner, who competed in the women's featherweight category. She claimed the silver med ...

(6–3) for a chance to compete in the bronze medal match, where she fell short to Mexico's

Iridia Salazar Iridia Salazar Blanco (born June 14, 1982) is a Mexican taekwondo practitioner and Olympic medalist. She competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, where she received a bronze medal in the 57 kg class.

with a close 2–1 record, relegating Reyes to fourth position.

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* * * * 1977 births Living people Spanish female taekwondo practitioners Olympic taekwondo practitioners for Spain Taekwondo practitioners at the 2004 Summer Olympics People from Guadalajara, Spain Sportspeople from the Province of Guadalajara World Taekwondo Championships medalists European Taekwondo Championships medalists 20th-century Spanish women {{Spain-taekwondo-bio-stub