Anne-Caroline Graffe (born 12 February 1986 in Papeete,

Tahiti Tahiti (; Tahitian ; ; previously also known as Otaheite) is the largest island of the Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia. It is located in the central part of the Pacific Ocean and the nearest major landmass is Austra ...

in French Polynesia) is a French

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 ...

athlete. Graffe took up

when she was 11 years old. She left

for metropolitan

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

when she was 18 years old. She won the women's heavyweight title at the

2011 World Taekwondo Championships The 2011 World Taekwondo Championships was the 20th edition of the World Taekwondo Championships, and was held at Gyeongju Indoor Stadium in Gyeongju, South Korea from May 1 to May 6, 2011. Medal summary Men Women Medal table Team rank ...

, held in Gyeongju,

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...

, defeating South Korean An Sae-Bom 1–0 in the final. She won the gold medal at the

2012 European Taekwondo Championships The 2012 European Taekwondo Championships were held in Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the nor ...

. Graffe, who had been training under

Myriam Baverel Myriam Baverel (born 14 January 1981) is a French taekwondo practitioner and Olympic medalist. She competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, where she received a silver medal in the +67 kg class.

at the Institut national du sport, de l'expertise et de la performance (

INSEP 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 ...

) for five years, had only been entered for the competition a month before the start of the 2012 Summer Olympics following the withdrawal due to injury of Gwladys Épangue. She was the first Polynesian to represent France at the Olympic Games. In her first Olympic competition, she was seeded number one. She cruised through the early rounds to reach the final, where she met

Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungar ...

Milica Mandić Milica Mandić ( sr-cyr, Милица Мандић, born 6 December 1991) is a Serbian taekwondo athlete. She is a two-time Olympic champion in the +67 kg category, as well as World champion in the same category. Career Mandić won a bronze m ...

. After a tight opening two rounds, Mandić opened up in the third and picked off Graffe with rapid kicks to the body and ran out a 9-7 winner.

References

External links

* * * Living people 1986 births People from Papeete French female taekwondo practitioners Taekwondo practitioners at the 2012 Summer Olympics Olympic taekwondo practitioners of France Olympic silver medalists for France Olympic medalists in taekwondo Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Knights of the Ordre national du Mérite Universiade medalists in taekwondo Universiade bronze medalists for France European Taekwondo Championships medalists World Taekwondo Championships medalists Medalists at the 2011 Summer Universiade {{France-taekwondo-bio-stub