Team USA Taekwondo: Steven Lopez Looks To Reclaim Gold In London

Steven Lopez has been the dominant force in taekwondo for over a decade, but the New York native wants one more crack at Olympic gold when he competes in the welterweight (80 kg) division in London.

Lopez is a two-time Olympic gold medalist, winning the featherweight division at Sydney in 2000 and the welterweight division at Athens 2004. Lopez looked to repeat at welterweight at Beijing in 2008, but he was upset in the quarterfinals by Italy's Mauro Sarmiento and settled for the bronze medal.

Lopez belongs to the first family of taekwondo in the United States, with brother Mark and sister Diana all earning medals in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Diana won the bronze in the 57 kg division, while brother Mark won the silver in the 68 kg division. Only Diana will be joining Steven in London, as Mark was defeated by Terrence Jennings in Olympic qualifying.

Lopez will be one of the heavy favorites to win the gold in London, when he competes on August 10. His main competitors for the gold will be Sarmiento and Iran's Yousef Karami, who won the 2011 World Taekwondo Championships.

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