At her Olympic debut, Hungary’s Viviana Marton triumphed in the women’s -67kg taekwondo final at Paris 2024, securing gold with a 2-0 victory over Serbia’s Aleksandra Perisic. Displaying composure and strength, Marton dominated the match, winning the first two rounds with scores of 7-1 and 4-2, making a third round unnecessary.
Reflecting on her achievement, Marton described the experience as “a dream,” expressing confidence in her abilities. “I am the strongest, the fastest, the best,” she said, emphasizing her self-belief and rigorous training. The 18-year-old celebrated her victory with uncontainable joy, dancing on the mat as Hungarian flags waved in support.
Perisic, who recently won gold at the 2023 Taiyuan Grand Prix, was disappointed with her silver medal, stating, “I came here to win the gold.” Despite her emotions, she expressed pride in representing her country and vowed to prepare for the next Olympics.
In the bronze medal matches, USA’s Kristina Teachout defeated China’s Song Jie, becoming the youngest member of the U.S. taekwondo team to earn a spot on the podium. Teachout, who is still in high school, called the achievement the culmination of her hard work. Belgium’s Sarah Chaari also secured a bronze, overcoming a 14-point deficit in the first round to defeat Uzbekistan’s Ozoda Sobirjonova, describing her win as “an enormous achievement.”
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