Sydney 2000
A dream comes true
The 2000 Summer Olympics took place from September 15 to October 1 in Sydney, Australia. They were the second Games to be held on the Australian continent, following the 1956 Summer Olympics, which were held in Melbourne. The Games were officially named the XXVII Olympiad. For the first time in history, Taekwondo was included in the official medal count.
Taekwondo at the Summer Olympics
“Taekwondo made its first appearance at the Olympics as a demonstration sport at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. The opening ceremony featured a mass demonstration of taekwondo, with hundreds of adults and children performing moves in unison. Taekwondo was again a demonstration sport at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain. Taekwondo became a full medal sport at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia, and has been a sport in the Olympic games since then.”
Venue
Eight Taekwondo competitions took place at the XXVII Summer Olympic Games 2000 in Sydney, four for women and four for men. The venue was the State Sports Centre in Sydney Olympic Park. Taekwondo was officially included in the Olympic program after having been a demonstration sport in 1988 and 1992.
“Taekwondo was contested as an official sport at the Olympic Games for the first time at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. It had previously been a demonstration sport in 1988 and 1992. Medals were awarded in four weight classes each for men and women.”
German athletes
Our Taekwondo trio for the 2000 Summer Olympics in their respective weight classes:
- Fadime Helvacioglu – 49 kg
- Aziz Acharki – 68 kg
- Faissal Ebnoutalib – 80 kg
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Olympic preparation
The Olympic Games were preceded by numerous and very intensive training sessions, which took place in sports clubs, German federal training center, and special high-performance camps.
Special Olympic Training in Hankook-School Aachen with Grandmaster KIM Chul-Hwan and Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Dahmen (RWTH Aachen), first German vice worldchampion.
Olympic Fights
Weight class -49 kg
Fadime Helvacioglu a German taekwondoka of Turkish origin, lost her fight in the first round of the flyweight class Taiwan´s Chi Shu-Ju, who went to win the bronze medal. From 1998 to 2000, Helvacioglu won the German championship title three times in a row. In 1996, she became European Champion and also won a silver medal in 2000.
www.instagram.com/p/DOZPDIvDlwy/
In 1997, she won the Austrian and the German Opens, repeating in 1998 at the German Open, and later winning the 1999 Dutch Open, and in 2000 the US Open.
Weight class – 68 kg
As one of Germany’s most successful Taekwondo competitors, Aziz Acharki took fifth place in the feather weight category (– 68 kg) at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney.
- Gold: Steven Lopez (USA)
- Silver: Joon–Sik Sin (South Korea)
- Bronce: Hadi Saeibonehkohal (Iran)
- Place: Tuncay Caliskan (Austria)
- Place: Carlo Massimino (Australia) and Aziz Acharki (Germany)
Match results
- Final: Lopez – Sin 1:0
- Third place: Saeibonehkohal – Caliskan 4:2
- Repechage: Caliskan – Acharki 7:7/referee’s decision
- Semifinal: Lopez – Acharki 2:0
- Quarterfinal: Acharki – Bernasconi (Monaco) 15:1
- First round: Acharki – Stanislas Ogoudjobi (Benin) 7:0
Weight class – 80 kg
Faissal Ebnoutalib crowned his career with a silver medal in the middleweight category (- 80 kg), winning Germany’s first official Olympic medal in Taekwondo and deservedly becoming Olympic silver medalist.
In the final, he lost on points (1:3) to the eventual Olympic champion and Cuban World Cup winner Angel Valodia Matos.
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – SEPTEMBER 29: Silver Medalist Faissal Ebnoutalib of Germany stands with Gold Medal Winner Angel Matos Fuentes of Cuba and Bronze medalist Victor Manuel Estrada Garibay of Mexico after the Mens 80 kg Taekwondo Competition on September 29, 2000 at the State Sports Centre, part of the Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia. (Photo: Billy Stickland/Getty Images)
National coaches Georg Streif and Holger Wunderlich with officials and our successful Olympic Taekwondo trio.
Videos
Faissal Ebnoutalib vs. Angel Valodia Matos (Cuba)
Interview with Faissal on German TV channel ZDF
Steven Lopez (USA) vs. Aziz Acharki (Germany)
Stanislas Ogoudjobi (Benin) vs. Aziz Acharki (Germany)
Further information
- www.olympics.com/de/olympic-games/sydney-2000
- de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympische_Sommerspiele_2000
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taekwondo_SummerOlympics
- spiegel.de/sport/sonst/teakwondo-silber-fuer-ebnoutabil
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Olympic_medalists
- www.olympics.com/en/athletes/
Group photo with Fadime Helvacioglu (left) from Kobra Bielefeld and Andreas Nöcker (right) from TC Radolfzell
Olympic fighters supporting the German Taekwondo Premier League (Bundesliga) team TeamKWON: team head coach Aziz Acharki (left), team members Mohamed Ebnoutalib (European & vice worldchampion) with team manager Thomas Fabula (European & vice worldchampion) and Mohamed Azhamriue (multiple German champion), Achmed Boumrah (3rd student world championships), right.
