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Steven López (born November 9, 1978) is an American
at
USA Taekwondo profileThe Road to Beijing 2008Interactive 3D Taekwondo training program, featuring López
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lopez, Steven 1978 births American male taekwondo practitioners American sportsmen Living people Kempner High School alumni Sportspeople from New York City Nicaraguan emigrants to the United States Participants in American reality television series Taekwondo practitioners at the 2000 Summer Olympics Taekwondo practitioners at the 2004 Summer Olympics Taekwondo practitioners at the 2008 Summer Olympics Taekwondo practitioners at the 2012 Summer Olympics Taekwondo practitioners at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for the United States in taekwondo Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in taekwondo Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Taekwondo practitioners at the 2011 Pan American Games Taekwondo practitioners at the 2015 Pan American Games Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States Pan American Games medalists in taekwondo World Taekwondo Championships medalists Taekwondo practitioners at the 1999 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2015 Pan American Games
Steven López (born November 9, 1978) is an American 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 ...
competitor, a 2000
File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...
and 2004 Olympic
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), ...
gold medalist (in the -68 and -80 kg divisions, respectively) and a 2008 Olympic
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 Nati ...
bronze medalist (again in the -80 kg division) and 4th Dan
Dan or DAN may refer to:
People
* Dan (name), including a list of people with the name
** Dan (king), several kings of Denmark
* Dan people, an ethnic group located in West Africa
**Dan language, a Mande language spoken primarily in Côte d'Ivoi ...
in taekwondo. In 2001, he won the Lightweight Taekwondo World Championship, and in 2003 he won the Welterweight Taekwondo World Championship which he has since won in 2005, 2007 and 2009 making him the first Taekwondo fighter to win 5 World Championships. With 2 Olympic titles, 5 titles in taekwondo world championships and 1 title in taekwondo world cup he is the most titled champion after Hadi Saei
Hadi Saei ( fa, هادی ساعی, born June 10, 1976) is an Iranian councilor and former taekwondo athlete who became the most successful Iranian athlete in Olympic history and the most titled champion in this sport by winning 9 world class titl ...
who earns 9 world class titles (two Olympic titles in 2004 and 2008, two world championships titles, four world cup titles and one world Olympic qualification tournament).
Biography
López was born on November 9, 1978, inNew York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
to Nicaraguans parents. His parents, Julio and Ondina, immigrated
Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...
from Nicaragua
Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the countr ...
to the United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
in 1973.Steven López profileat
Olympic Games
The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a vari ...
official website His father took odd jobs to support his family but later relocated to Texas. López first learned the sport of 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 ...
in his garage at the age of five from his father and Jean, his older brother. He is a 1997 graduate of Kempner High School
I.H. Kempner High School, better known simply as Kempner High School, is a public high school in Sugar Land, Texas and a part of the Fort Bend Independent School District.
It was named after Isaac Herbert Kempner (1873–1967), the founder of ...
in Sugar Land, Texas
Sugar Land is the largest city in Fort Bend County, Texas, United States, located in the southwestern part of the metropolitan area. Located about southwest of downtown Houston, Sugar Land is a populous suburban municipality centered around ...
, where he was voted "most likely to succeed" and was member of the National Honor Society.
López's siblings, Mark
Mark may refer to:
Currency
* Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina
* East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic
* Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927
* F ...
, Diana and Jean López (coach), are all USA National Team Members in Taekwondo. His younger siblings, Mark and Diana, also represented the United States at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, marking the first time since 1904 that three siblings have been on the same Olympic team. Both López and siblings, Mark (men's featherweight) and Diana (women's featherweight), made sports history in April 2005 when they all claimed a world championship title at the same event (2005 World Taekwondo Championships
The 2005 World Taekwondo Championships were the 17th edition of the World Taekwondo Championships, and were held in Madrid, Spain from 13 to 17 April 2005.
Medal summary Men
Women
Medal table
Team ranking
South Korea won both men’s and ...
) with their oldest brother, Jean, participating in the feat as their coach. Steven Lopez and Diana Lopez both qualified for the 2012 Olympic games in London in July 2012 at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, CO.
In January 2006, López tested positive for a banned substance ( L-methamphetamine) which he said came from an over-the-counter vapor inhaler he used. López promptly accepted a three-month suspension and participated in an educational anti-doping program.
López has appeared in People Magazine
''People'' is an American weekly magazine that specializes in celebrity news and human-interest stories. It is published by Dotdash Meredith, a subsidiary of IAC. With a readership of 46.6 million adults in 2009, ''People'' had the lar ...
's 50 Most Beautiful People. In 2012, he participated in Fox
Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush'').
Twelve sp ...
's dating game show '' The Choice''.
López is a Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
* Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
* Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...
who attends St. Theresa Catholic Church in Sugar Land, Texas
Sugar Land is the largest city in Fort Bend County, Texas, United States, located in the southwestern part of the metropolitan area. Located about southwest of downtown Houston, Sugar Land is a populous suburban municipality centered around ...
, and has said his faith has always been a very important part of his life.
Allegations of sexual misconduct and sexual assault
On June 8, 2017, USA Today published a news items stating that López had been accused of sexual assault and drugging of various female athletes. The accusations presented a repeated pattern of behavior of abuse allegedly perpetrated by López and his brother, Jean Lopez. As of 2020, López and his brother have a preliminary suspension in place enacted byUSA Taekwondo
USA Taekwondo (USAT) is the national governing body (NGB) of Taekwondo for the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) and thus the United States's official Member National Association of World Taekwondo USAT has complete authority over all dec ...
which effectively bars them from competing in international Taekwondo competitions.
Career highlights
*2015 Grand Prix: BRONZE *2015 Pan American Games: BRONZE *2014 Grand Prix: SILVER *2014 USA Open: GOLD *2013 Argentina Open: GOLD *2009 World Taekwondo Championships (Welter): GOLD *2008 Beijing Summer Olympics: BRONZE *2007 World Taekwondo Championships (Welter): GOLD *2007 Sr. National Team Trials (Welter): 1st *2005 U.S. Olympic Committee Male Athlete of the Month (April) *2004 Athens Summer Olympics: GOLD *2004 US Olympic Team Trials: GOLD *2004 Sullivan Award Finalist *2003 World Taekwondo Championships: GOLD *2003 World Taekwondo Qualification Tournament: BRONZE *2003 Pan American Games: GOLD *2003 Sullivan Award Finalist *2002 World Cup Taekwondo Championships: BRONZE *2002 Pan American Games: GOLD *2001 World Taekwondo Championships: GOLD *2000 Sydney Summer Olympics: GOLD *1999 Pan American Games: GOLD *1999 Pan American Regional Olympic Qualifier: GOLD *1998 World Cup Taekwondo Championships: BRONZE *1998 Pan American Taekwondo Championships: GOLD *1997 World Cup Taekwondo Championships: GOLD *1996 Pan American Taekwondo Championships: GOLD *1996 World Junior Taekwondo Championships: GOLD *1995 Pan American Taekwondo Championships: SILVER *1994 World Cup Taekwondo Championships: BRONZE *1993 Jr. Olympic: BRONZESee also
*List of athletes with the most appearances at Olympic Games
A small fraction of the world's population ever competes at the Olympic Games; an even smaller fraction ever competes in multiple Games. 849 athletes (260 women and 589 men) have participated in at least five Olympics from Athens 1896 to Beiji ...
Footnotes
External links
*USA Taekwondo profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lopez, Steven 1978 births American male taekwondo practitioners American sportsmen Living people Kempner High School alumni Sportspeople from New York City Nicaraguan emigrants to the United States Participants in American reality television series Taekwondo practitioners at the 2000 Summer Olympics Taekwondo practitioners at the 2004 Summer Olympics Taekwondo practitioners at the 2008 Summer Olympics Taekwondo practitioners at the 2012 Summer Olympics Taekwondo practitioners at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for the United States in taekwondo Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in taekwondo Medalists at the 2000 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Taekwondo practitioners at the 2011 Pan American Games Taekwondo practitioners at the 2015 Pan American Games Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States Pan American Games medalists in taekwondo World Taekwondo Championships medalists Taekwondo practitioners at the 1999 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2015 Pan American Games