Steven López

Steven López

Steven López (Right)
Personal information
Born	(1978-11-09) November 9, 1978 (age 38) Nicaragua
Height	6 ft 3 in (191 cm)
Weight	185 lb (84 kg)
Medal record Men's Taekwondo Representing  United States Olympic Games 2000 Sydney – 68 kg 2004 Athens – 80 kg 2008 Beijing – 80 kg World Championships 1996 Barcelona Lightweight 2001 Jeju Lightweight 2003 Garmisch Welterweight 2005 Madrid Welterweight 2007 Beijing Welterweight 2009 Copenhagen Welterweight Pan American Games 1999 Winnipeg – 68 kg 2003 Santo Domingo – 80 kg Pan American Taekwondo Championships 1996 – 68kg 1998 La Habana – 68kg 2002 Quito – 68kg

Steven López (born November 9, 1978) is a 2000 and 2004 Olympic Gold medalist and a 2008 Olympic Bronze medalist and 4th Dan in taekwondo. In 2001, he won the Lightweight Taekwondo World Championship, and in 2003 he won the Welterweight Taekwondo World Championship which he has since won in 2005, 2007 and 2009 making him the first Taekwondo fighter to win 5 World Championships.

Born in Nicaragua, Lopez's parents moved to New York City in 1972. In his native country, his father, Julio, worked for the dictator Anastasio Somoza, who was overthrown in 1979 after the Sandinista Revolution. His father took odd jobs to support his family but later relocated to Texas. López first learned the sport of Taekwondo in his garage at the age of five from his father and Jean, his older brother. He is a 1997 graduate of Kempner High School in Sugar Land, Texas where he was voted "most likely to succeed" and was member of the National Honor Society.

López's siblings, Mark, Diana and Jean Lopez (coach) are all USA National Team Members in Taekwondo. His younger siblings, Mark and Diana, also represented the United States at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, marking the first time since 1904 that three siblings have been on the same Olympic team. Both López and siblings, Mark (men's featherweight) and Diana (women's featherweight), made sports history in April 2005 when they all claimed a world championship title at the same event (2005 World Taekwondo Championships) with their oldest brother, Jean, participating in the feat as their coach. Steven Lopez and Diana Lopez both qualified for the 2012 Olympic games in London in July 2012 at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, CO.

On January 2006, López tested positive for a banned substance (L-methamphetamine) which he said came from an over-the-counter vapor inhaler he used. López promptly accepted a three-month suspension and participated in an educational anti-doping program.