Steven Lopez

Two-time Olympic Gold Medalist, 2008 Olympic Bronze Medalist and four-time World Champion
Olympic Weight Class: Welterweight
Height/Weight: 6’2″/170 lbs.
Born: November 9, 1978, in NewYork, N.Y.
Hometown: Sugar Land, Texas
Highlights: Steven Lopez is the most decorated athlete in taekwondo history … Lopez has won two consecutive Olympic gold medals (2000 and 2004) and an Olympicbronze medal (2008) for the United States of America and a record five consecutive World Championships (2001, 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2009). In September of 2007, he qualified himself for a spot on the2008 U.S. Olympic Team after making the finals at the World Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Manchester, England. He made history with younger brother, Mark, and sister, Diana, at the 2005 WorldChampionships when they all won gold, becoming the first family ever to have three siblings as World Champions in all of sports … Lopez also won the gold medal at the 1997 World Cup Taekwondo Championshipsand was the 1996 Junior World Taekwondo Champion.
Prior to his Olympic debut, he won the gold medal at the 1999 Pan American Games in Winnipeg, Canada, as well as the gold at the 1998 and 1996 PanAmerican Taekwondo Championships. In 1997, he captured the gold at the World Cup Taekwondo competition. In 1996, he was the Junior World Taekwondo Champion and was a member of the 1995 United States PanAmerican Games Taekwondo Team. Graduated in 1997 from Kempner High School in Sugar Land, Texas, where he was voted ‘Most Likely to Succeed.’ In high school, he was a member of the National Honor Societyand Senior National Honor Society. He was an Academic Scholar and lettered in academics. The person he most admires is his older brother, Jean, who also doubles as his coach. Steven and Jean havebeen on two U.S. National Taekwondo Teams together (1994 and 1996). In his spare time, Steven enjoys playing and watching sports and dancing to salsa and meringue music. When asked what participating…