Lopez Siblings and the Olympics

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Taekwondo siblings are steps away from Olympics (http://www.usatoday.com/sports/olympics/2008-04-03-taekwondo-lopez_N.htm)


Steven Lopez, 29, a two-time Olympic gold medalist in taekwondo, has already qualified for the Beijing Olympics. Both Diana, 24, and Mark, 25, are top seeds at Saturday's Olympic Trials in Des Moines. They can pack their bags for Beijing with one victory, making it the first time since 1904 that three siblings would compete on the same Olympic team.

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The three siblings were on The Tonight Show last night (and their brother, who is their coach, was in the audience). They're the first siblings in the Olympics in over 100 years, they said.

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Three Siblings Headed to Beijing in Tae Kwon Do


Of all the potential explanations for why the Lopez family of suburban Houston has become the dominant force in American tae kwon do, credit Chuck Norris, a one-and-a-half-car garage and Nicaragua. But it all began, really, with a misunderstanding that happened like this.

Julio Lopez, a fan of 1970s’ kung fu movies, wanted to enroll his oldest son, Jean, then 8, in martial arts classes. One day, he saw a storefront advertising karate lessons. Perfect, Julio thought. Soon after registering him, though, Julio discovered the truth. The truth was Julio didn’t register his son for karate. He registered him for tae kwon do, a Korean martial art that places a greater emphasis on kicking.


“Maybe it was to get more customers because, at that time, I don’t think people around here even knew tae kwon do existed,” Julio said. “Good thing, too, because karate isn’t an Olympic sport. Who knows what would have happened then.”


The version I read in the paper had an amusing error that has since been corrected:


Correction: June 23, 2008
An article Saturday about Steven, Mark and Diana Lopez, siblings who qualified for the Olympics in tae kwon do, misstated the origins of karate. It is a Japanese martial art, not a Korean martial art like tae kwon do.

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Another big story on them in USA Today this past week...they're big news!

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For the Marshall Islands, a Debut on a World Stage (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/05/sports/olympics/05marshall.html?scp=2&sq=marshall%20islands&st=cse)


Having inspired the international fashion world’s name for bikini, the Marshall Islands will now join the international sporting world, competing for the first time in the Olympics. The Pacific nation’s entire team of five athletes could fit around the dinner table, which seems somehow apropos, considering that its best athlete is a chef.

Anju Jason, a tae kwon do athlete who has spent most of his life in Hawaii, cooks for Panda Express, one of the largest chains serving Chinese fast food in the United States. He finds some culinary feng shui in the alignment of his job and the Summer Games in Beijing.

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Mark Lopez (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Lopez): Silver.
Steven Lopez (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Lopez): Bronze
Diana Lopez (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diana_Lopez): BronzeGreat work!