Gwladys Patience Épangue (born 15 August 1983 in

Clichy-la-Garenne Clichy ( , ; sometimes unofficially Clichy-la-Garenne ) is a Communes of France, commune in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located on the Seine, from the Kilometre zero, centre of Paris. Located in Clichy are the headquarters ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

) is a French

taekwondo Taekwondo (; ; ) is a Korean martial art and combat sport involving primarily kicking techniques and punching. "Taekwondo" can be translated as ''tae'' ("strike with foot"), ''kwon'' ("strike with hand"), and ''do'' ("the art or way"). In ad ...

athlete. Representing France at the 2005 World Taekwondo Championships in Madrid, she won the silver medal in the welterweight division, losing to

Hwang Kyung-Seon Hwang Kyung-seon (, born May 21, 1986), also spelled Hwang Kyung-sun, is a female South Korean Taekwondo practitioner. She is a two-time Olympic Champion from 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics. Olympics In 2008, she won the gold medal in the -67 ...

from

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

in the final. At the

2007 World Taekwondo Championships The 2007 World Taekwondo Championships were the 18th edition of the World Taekwondo Championships, and were held in Beijing, China from May 18 to May 22, 2007. Medal table Medal summary Men Women Team ranking Men Women References ...

in Beijing, she won a silver medal, losing to Hwang in the final again. Épangue represented her country in the –67 kg class at the

2008 Beijing Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

and won a bronze medal. In 2009, Épangue won her first World Championship gold medal in welterweight at the 2009 World Taekwondo Championships in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

. In Round of 32, she edged out South Korean's favorite Park Hye-Mi, who demolished

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

ic champion

Auður Jónsdóttir Auður Jónsdóttir (born 30 March 1973) is an Iceland, Icelandic author. Her novels deal with family, particularly mother-daughter relationships. Career Auður's debut novel, ''Bliss'' (Stjórnlaus Lukka), was nominated for the Icelandic Li ...

22–1 in the first round, in overtime. In the semifinal match, Épangue beat European rival

Sandra Šarić Sandra Šarić (born 8 May 1984 in Senj) is a Croatian taekwondo athlete. Representing Croatia at the 2003 World Taekwondo Championships in Garmisch Partenkirchen, Germany, she won the silver medal in the welterweight (-67 kg) ...

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

, 2008 European Champion and 4-time World Championship medalist, 6–1. Épangue withdrew from the

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

because of injury was replaced by her compatriot Anne-Caroline Graffe.

References

External links

Athlete Biography
at beijing2008 * French female taekwondo practitioners Living people French sportspeople of Cameroonian descent 1983 births Taekwondo practitioners at the 2004 Summer Olympics Taekwondo practitioners at the 2008 Summer Olympics Olympic bronze medalists for France Olympic taekwondo practitioners for France Olympic medalists in taekwondo Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Knights of the Ordre national du Mérite Taekwondo practitioners at the 2015 European Games European Games medalists in taekwondo European Games gold medalists for France Taekwondo practitioners at the 2016 Summer Olympics Summer World University Games medalists in taekwondo FISU World University Games bronze medalists for France European Taekwondo Championships medalists World Taekwondo Championships medalists Medalists at the 2003 Summer Universiade Medalists at the 2005 Summer Universiade Medalists at the 2009 Summer Universiade 20th-century French women 21st-century French sportswomen {{France-taekwondo-bio-stub