The view of the Grand Palais was really fascinating. The modern sports arena designed in the historic palace, a mix of sport and culture, Taekwondo under the new rules was presented at Paris 2024 and, as usual, produced some unpredictable results.

Only one country, South Korea, won two gold medals. Only six countries won more than one medal. For South Korea, these were rehabilitation Games. They didn't win a single gold medal in Tokyo, which was seen as a major failure, but two gold medals in the first two days of competition made this a memorable Olympics for the Koreans.

China won one silver and one bronze, and although that is still one silver more than in Tokyo, their hopes for Paris 2024 were much higher, especially in the women's competition. The same goes for Turkey. They had three reigning world champions in their squad, but only one - Nafia Kus - managed to win bronze.

The last dance of double Olympic champion

Panipak Wongpattanakit of Thailand won gold in Tokyo and retained her title in Paris. She was one of the returning Olympic champions to retain her title (second was Ulugbek Rashitov of Uzbekistan). And now it is "job done, game over" for the 27-year-old athlete.

"It was the last time for me. I cried. I called my psychologist before the competition. And she told me: "Let's enjoy the last dance," said Wongpattanakit.

Laurin closes competition with gold for France

France won its first medal on the opening day of the competition when Cyrian Ravet took bronze. But their main hopes were pinned on reigning world champions Magda Wiet-Henin and Althea Laurin. Wiet-Henin lost her first fight, but Laurin made it to the final, and her final fight was to close the whole tournament. The Grand Palais went wild when Laurin defeated Uzbekistan's Svetlana Osipova in the final.

Iran with four medals

Iran is another country that has improved on its Tokyo 2020 results. They have won taekwondo medals at every Olympic Games, but failed to win any in Tokyo. In Paris, they won 4, and it's the country's best result since taekwondo became an Olympic sport. On the final day of competition, Arian Salimi won gold and Iran finished second in the medal table.

Only silver for Great Britain

Great Britain is another country that has always been on top. They had four strong competitors in Paris, but three of them failed to make the podium. Double Olympic champion Jade Jones suffered a shocking first-round defeat. Reigning world champion Bradley Sinden lost in the semi-finals and then withdrew from the third-place bout. Rebecca McGowan came close to a bronze medal but lost to Nafia Kus. 

Only Caden Cunningham lived up to expectations, reaching the final where he lost to Salimi on the final day.

Former refugee athlete on the podium

Kimia Alizadeh competed in her third Olympics and won her second brone medal. The former Iranian athlete, who won Iran's first medal in women's taekwondo at Rio 2016, represented the Refugee Olympic Team in Tokyo. She began representing Bulgaria in 2024 and won her second bronze medal for the country. 

"I am sure all the refugees are cheering for me. Never give up on your dream," said Alizadeh after her success.

Two medals and first gold for Tunisia

Tokyo 2020 silver medallist Mohamed Jendoubi of Tunisia won bronze in Paris, but his team-mate Firas Kouassi did even better, becoming Tunisia's first Olympic taekwondo champion. Tunisia have now won 18 Olympic medals, four of them in taekwondo.

Hungarian youngster wins gold

Hungary's 18-year-old Viviana Marton made history for her country by becoming the first taekwondo athlete to win an Olympic medal. Her twin sister Luana won gold at the 2023 World Championships, becoming the first female taekwondo athlete from Hungary to win a world title. 

Viviana was considered an underdog, but she defeated all the strongest athletes, including two-time Olympic medallist Ruth Gbagbi (Côte d'Ivoire), eventual bronze medallist Kristina Teachout (USA), World N1 Sarah Chaari (Belgium) and 2022 World runner-up Aleksandra Perisic (Serbia) in the final.

"My sister and I are training together every day, we motivate each other to achieve our goals,” said Marton after winning the gold medal.

Already nicknamed the "Golden Twins", they are dreaming of Los Angeles 2028.

"I started thinking about LA 2028 the next morning. I was always thinking the first was Paris. Now - Los Angeles!" concluded the athlete.