Peter López Santos (born September 23, 1981) is an American-born citizen who is a

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

vian

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 ...

fighter. He is most recognized for being a top international

featherweight Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling. Boxing Professional boxing History A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, t ...

athlete for the Peruvian Taekwondo Team at present.

Biography

López was born in

Irvine, California Irvine () is a master-planned city in South Orange County, California, United States, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Irvine Company started developing the area in the 1960s and the city was formally incorporated on December 28, 197 ...

, in the United States, but aged five his family returned to live in Surquillo (Lima, Peru) for a few years. It was in Peru that López started his first taekwondo class with his dad, who would later become his coach during the early years of his career as an athlete. Eventually the family López returned to the U.S, where he began to competeand won 1998 Youth World Champion, Champion in the older category in 2001, bronze medal of the World Cup 2002, silver medal at the 2002 Pan American Championships and bronze medal at the 2003 World Championship, among others. In 2004, the Peruvian Taekwondo Federation invited López to lead a training course. It was at this time that he decided to represent Peru. Despite this- the "club Elite" based in Texas- continues to support him. "It's like my family," López once said about this club. According to the Peruvian Olympic Committee, of the 15 athletes who participated in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, López was the one that had the greatest chance of winning a medal in the 'feather' category (up to 68 kilos). López won his first two matches against Burak Hasan from Australia and Isah Adam Muhammad from Nigeria before losing the semifinal matches against the American Mark Lopez. He would then dispute the bronze medal match against

Servet Tazegül Servet Tazegül ( (born 26 September 1988) is a world, Olympic and European champion Turkish taekwondo practitioner of Azerbaijani origin competing in the featherweight division. He competed in the men's 68 kg class at the 2008 Summer Olym ...

from Turkey where he lost by one point. In 2011, he competed at the

2011 Pan American Games The 2011 Pan American Games, officially the XVI Pan American Games, was an international multi-sport event that was held from October 14–30, 2011, in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. Some events were held in the nearby cities of Ciudad Guzmán, ...

where he would also represent

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

in the 68 kilos category. He did not advance from the quarterfinals. Lopez represented

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

at the

2012 London Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

References

1981 births Living people Citizens of Peru through descent Olympic taekwondo practitioners for Peru Peruvian male taekwondo practitioners Taekwondo practitioners at the 2007 Pan American Games Taekwondo practitioners at the 2008 Summer Olympics Taekwondo practitioners at the 2011 Pan American Games Sportspeople from Irvine, California Pan American Games silver medalists for Peru Taekwondo practitioners at the 2012 Summer Olympics Pan American Games medalists in taekwondo American sportspeople of Peruvian descent South American Games gold medalists for Peru South American Games medalists in taekwondo Competitors at the 2010 South American Games Medalists at the 2007 Pan American Games {{Taekwondo-bio-stub