By Mathieu Rosemain
PARIS (Reuters) – France’s Althea Laurin claimed the women’s taekwondo heavyweight title on Saturday, winning the country’s first Olympic gold medal in the sport by beating Uzbekistan’s Svetlana Osipova.
Laurin, 22, beat Osipova 3-0 3-3, snatching victory at the very last second with a spectacular kick to the head that allowed her to level the score with the Uzbek fighter.
With the home hope attempting a greater number of attacks, the referees estimated she won the match by superiority.
A beaming Laurin threw her fist in the air several times toward the excited French crowd who had shouted her name and clapped during the final in the stands at the Grand Palais.
Laurin’s victory brings comfort to the French team, after the shock ousting of her teammate and top contender Magda Wiet-Henin in women’s welterweights on Friday.
Laurin, who took bronze in Tokyo three years ago, dominated her opponents, winning all of her bouts in two rounds.
To reach the finals, she notably beat Turkey’s 2023 world champion in the +73 kg class Nafia Kus Aydin, who won bronze, along with South Korea’s Lee Da-bin.
In the men’s contest, Iran’s Arian Salimi won gold by beating Britain’s Caden Cunningham 3-6 9-1 6-3. Cuba’s Rafael Alba and Ivory Coast’s Cheick Sallah Cisse claimed bronze.
In a stunning display of skill and determination, the 21-year-old Cunningham secured a place in the final by toppling three seasoned Olympic medallists in a row.
Cunningham began by overcoming Niger’s Abdoul Issoufou, the Rio 2016 silver medallist, in the round of 16. In the quarter-finals, he dispatched Alba, who won silver in Tokyo.
Cisse, known as the “Man of Rio” for securing Ivory Coast’s first-ever Olympic gold medal, was the last to fall.
“(These are) three guys I’ve wanted to fight for a while,” the British fighter said after defeating Cisse, 30. “Three world champions there, three Olympic medalists. So, good fights, but I made sure I was the one who would come out on top.”
(Reporting by Mathieu Rosemain; Editing by Ken Ferris)
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