1st World Games
Santa Clara, USA
Forty-five years ago, the 1st World Games Taekwondo competitions took place from July 24 to August 2, in California (USA), at the Toso Pavilion on the Santa Clara University campus. This marked the historic debut of this international multisport event for sports not included in the permanent program of the Olympic Games.
Key Facts
- South Korea’s Dominance: As expected, athletes from the birthplace of taekwondo clearly dominated the tournament. South Korea won 9 out of 10 possible gold medals.
- Biggest Upset: South Korea’s historic chance at a clean sweep (victory in all ten weight classes) was thwarted in the heavyweight division. Canada’s Darrell Henegan defeated the South Korean favorite in the final to claim gold, a victory that went down in history as the “biggest upset of the entire World Games I”.
- Significance for Taekwondo: The tournament was a milestone for the global recognition of Taekwondo. After the World Taekwondo Federation (WTF) had only been recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 1980, the 1981 World Games provided the first major international stage prior to its eventual inclusion in the Olympic program.
International breakthrough
First International Competition with the German National Team: Thomas Fabula, physics student at the University of Bonn and a talented German Taekwondo athlete, competed in the 1st World Games in Santa Clara. He competed in the 60 kg weight class at the tournament under the guidance of national coach Park Soo-Nam (RIP).
Highlights
- Key highlights of his performance: Today, Thomas Fabula, who holds a Ph.D. in physics, works as a management consultant but remains deeply involved in sports, served for many years, among other roles, as a Taekwondo sports ambassador in North Rhine-Westphalia (Sportstiftung NRW)
- Tournament & weight class: Fabula competed in the up to 60 kg (bantam weight) category. Competition Details: he faced Juan Mangoni (Argentina, 3rd place) in one of his preliminary rounds. Although he did not win a medal at this tournament, his participation laid the foundation for his later international career.
- Taekwondo Career: The year 1981 marked his international breakthrough. Shortly before the World Games, he had already won the German Open in Stuttgart in the same weight class. Just one year later, he celebrated the greatest athletic achievements of his active career by winning the 1982 European Championship in Rome and finishing as runner-up at the 1983 World Championships in Copenhagen.
Winners by weight class
Only men’s competitions were held in ten weight classes in Santa Clara, South Korea won 9 out of 10 titles:
| Event | Gold | Silver | Bronze |
|---|---|---|---|
| Men | |||
| Finweight |  Ki-moon KWON (KOR) |
 Dea SUNG LEE (USA) |
 Aldo CODAZZO (ITA) Reinhard LANGER (GER) |
| Flyweight | Ki-mo YANG (KOR) |
 Franco BENITO (ESP) |
 Fernando CELADA (MEX) Dominic MAELIONICO (ITA) |
| Bantamweight | Bum-soo CHUNG (KOR) |
Oscar AGUILAR (MEX) |
 Serge LANGLOIS (CAN) Dicostanzo GERMIA (ITA) |
| Featherweight | Jun-kul LEE (KOR) |
Jorge GARCIA (ESP) |
Raffaele MARCHIONE (ITA) Juan Carlos Mangoni (ARG) |
| Lightweight | Yung-kuk KIM (KOR) |
Alphonse QAHHAAR (USA) |
Luige SIENORE (ITA) Kone SOWLEYMANE (CIV) |
| Welterweight | Jeong-kuk KIM (KOR) |
Raul BUSCA (ARG)[10] |
Antonio HERANDE (MEX) Ruben RHIJS (NED) |
| Light Middleweight | Il-nam OH (KOR) |
Chul HOE KIM (USA) |
Patrice REMARCK (CIV) Helmut GARTNER (GER) |
| Middleweight | Dong-Jun LEE (KOR) |
Jersey LONG (CAN) |
Andreas SCHEFFLER (GER) Jugi D’ORIANO (ITA) |
| Light Heavyweight | Chan JUNG (KOR) |
Cisse ABOUAYE (CIV) |
Tom FEDERLE (USA) Hsin-nien SUN (TPE) |
| Heavyweight | Darrell HANEGAN (CAN) |
Chong-man PARK (KOR) |
Harry PRIJS (NED) Miguel ESQUIVEL (MEX) |
Important Milestone for the Federation
The year 1981 was also a pivotal year in the history of German Taekwondo: the German Taekwondo Union (DTU) was founded in 1981 and took over the responsibilities of the former Taekwondo Section of the German Judo Federation (DJB).
Further Information
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1981_World_Games
- www.wikiwand.com/en/1981_World_Games
- www.theworldgames.org/editions/Santa-Clara-USA-1981-5
- www.taekwondodata.com/thomas-fabula.a1ic.html
Testimonial
“Your sporting career can rightly be described as outstanding. Your international successes have contributed significantly to the top position of our federation at European and world level. Your role model function as a prominent top athlete is of great value to our federation and our sport.” ~ Joachim C. Hey, Vice President & international affairs officer, German Taekwondo Association, Germany
Retrospective
