Sebastián Eduardo Crismanich (born 30 October 1986 in

Corrientes Corrientes (; Guaraní: Taragüí, literally: "Currents") is the capital city of the province of Corrientes, Argentina, located on the eastern shore of the Paraná River, about from Buenos Aires and from Posadas, on National Route 12. It ha ...

) is an Argentine

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. He won the gold medal in the men's 80 kg division at the 2012 Summer Olympics. Sebastián has the distinction of being the second individual athlete to win a gold medal for Argentina, the inaugural

medal for Argentina. The gold medal honor was established at the

1948 Summer Olympics The 1948 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XIV Olympiad and also known as London 1948) were an international multi-sport event held from 29 July to 14 August 1948 in London, England, United Kingdom. Following a twelve-year hiatus ca ...

, when

Delfo Cabrera Delfo Cabrera Gómez (April 2, 1919 – August 2, 1981) was an Argentine athlete, winner of the marathon race at the 1948 Summer Olympics in one of the most dramatic finishes in athletics history. Biography Born in Armstrong, Santa Fe Pr ...

entered the stadium concluding the marathon. In his quest for the gold medal, Crismanich beat New Zealander Vaughn Scott 9-5, and then Afghan Nesar Ahmad Bahawi 9-1 in the quarterfinals. After a fierce battle in the semifinals, Crismanich defeated Armenian

Arman Yeremyan Arman Yeremyan ( hy, Արման Երեմյան; born 29 January 1986) is an Armenian taekwondo athlete. He is an Armenian and European Champion. Yeremyan has been awarded the Master of Sport of Armenia, International Class title. Bi ...

2-1 and proceeded to the Olympic final. In a narrow victory against Spaniard Nicolas Garcia Hemme, Crismanich was only able to take the advantage needed to win in the final round, seconds from the end. He was honored as the national flag bearer at the London 2012 Summer Olympics Closing Ceremony Parade of Flags.

Biography

Sebastián Crismanich was born in

Corrientes Province Corrientes (, ‘currents’ or ‘streams’; gn, Taragui), officially the Province of Corrientes ( es, Provincia de Corrientes; gn, Taragüí Tetãmini) is a province in northeast Argentina, in the Mesopotamia region. It is surrounded by (fr ...

, into a

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

n immigrant family ( hr, Krizmanić). His brother, Mauro, is also a well-known taekwondo practitioner who won the bronze medal in men's flyweight (under 58 kg) at the 2009 World Taekwondo Championships in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crismanich, Sebastian 1986 births Living people Argentine male taekwondo practitioners Olympic taekwondo practitioners of Argentina Taekwondo practitioners at the 2012 Summer Olympics People from Corrientes Pan American Games gold medalists for Argentina Olympic gold medalists for Argentina Olympic medalists in taekwondo Argentine people of Croatian descent Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Pan American Games medalists in taekwondo South American Games silver medalists for Argentina South American Games gold medalists for Argentina South American Games medalists in taekwondo Taekwondo practitioners at the 2011 Pan American Games Competitors at the 2010 South American Games Competitors at the 2014 South American Games National University of Córdoba alumni Medalists at the 2011 Pan American Games Sportspeople from Corrientes Province 21st-century Argentine people