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Steven Lopez, taekwondo
Lopez, a two-time Olympic gold
medalist, has been training in the martial art of taekwondo
since he was 9. His first and only coach? Older brother
Jean, who was just 14. Now Jean Lopez is the national team
coach. In 2000, featherweight Steven Lopez was the only U.S.
medalist and the only taekwondo athlete to defeat a
competitor from Korea. For Athens, Lopez, a 2003 Sullivan
Award finalist, switched to the welterweight division, up to
176 pounds. The summer of 2004 proved to be a hot one. In
June, Lopez was named one of People magazine's "50
Hottest Bachelors." In August, Lopez, 26, defeated Turkey's
Bahri Tanrikulu 3-0 to win his second gold medal. |