Steven López (born November 9, 1978) is an American

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 ...

competitor, a

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

and

2004 Olympic The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

gold medalist (in the -68 and -80 kg divisions, respectively) and a 2008 Olympic bronze medalist (again in the -80 kg division) and 4th Dan 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 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

and

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

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 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).

Early life and athletic career

López was born on November 9, 1978 in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

Nicaraguan Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America after Guatemala and ...

parents. His parents, Julio and Ondina,

immigrated Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as permanent residents. Commuters, tourists, and other short- ...

from

Nicaragua Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America aft ...

to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

in 1973.Steven López profile
at

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...

official website His father took odd jobs to support his family and they later moved to

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

. His father encouraged López, his sister, and brothers to be in

. López first learned it in his garage at the age of five from his father and Jean, his older brother. López is a 1997 graduate of Kempner High School in

Sugar Land, Texas Sugar Land (sometimes incorrectly spelled as Sugarland) 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 po ...

next to

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

, where he was voted "most likely to succeed" and was a member of the

National Honor Society The National Honor Society (NHS) is one of the oldest, largest, and most widely recognized cocurricular student organizations in American high schools, with 1.4 million members. The purpose of the NHS is to create enthusiasm for scholarship, to ...

. All of López's siblings,

Mark Mark may refer to: In the Bible * Mark the Evangelist (5–68), traditionally ascribed author of the Gospel of Mark * Gospel of Mark, one of the four canonical gospels and one of the three synoptic gospels Currencies * Mark (currency), a currenc ...

, Diana and Jean López (coach), are USA National Team Members in taekwondo. His younger siblings, Mark and Diana, also represented the United States 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 ...

, marking the first time since 1904 that three siblings have been on the same Olympic team. Both López and his siblings, Mark (men's featherweight) and Diana (women's featherweight), made sports history in April 2005 when they claimed a world championship title at the same event ( 2005 World Taekwondo Championships) 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

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in July 2012 at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado. 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. He promptly accepted a three-month suspension and participated in an educational anti-doping program. López has appeared in ''People'' magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People. In 2012, he participated in a dating game show '' The Choice'' on

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 ("brush"). Twelve species ...

. López is a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

who attends St. Theresa Catholic Church in Sugar Land, Texas, and says 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 saying that López had been accused of sexual assault and drugging of various female athletes. The accusations claimed there was a repeated pattern of behavior of abuse allegedly perpetrated by López and his brother, Jean Lopez. López and his brother both received a preliminary suspension enacted by

USA Taekwondo USA Taekwondo (USAT) is the Sport governing body, national governing body (NGB) of Taekwondo for the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) and thus the United States' official Member National Association of World Taekwondo USAT has complete au ...

which effectively barred them from competing in international Taekwondo competitions. Six women have come forward claiming to have been sexually assaulted by Lopez. In December 2022, the International Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) lifted the lifetime ban for sexual abuse against Steven Lopez, his brother, and his coach. The CAS found that the charge by the Taekwondo World Federation was based on its 2011

Code of Ethics Ethical codes are adopted by organizations to assist members in understanding the difference between right and wrong and in applying that understanding to their decisions. An ethical code generally implies documents at three levels: codes of b ...

. However, since the incidents the brothers are accused of allegedly took place before 2011, the code should not have been used, according to CAS.

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: BRONZE

Footnotes

External links

Early life and athletic career

Allegations of sexual misconduct and sexual assault

Career highlights

See also

Footnotes

External links