España
WT · Kukkiwon
España es la gran potencia europea del Taekwondo WT: segunda nación del mundo por medallas en Campeonatos Mundiales (121 medallas, 23 oros), primera en Europa por medallas acumuladas en Europeos (175+), y la única nación occidental en ganar oro olímpico en esta disciplina (Joel González, Londres 2012). El TKD llegó a España en 1968 de la mano de maestros coreanos y creció hasta convertirse en el tercer deporte de combate con más licencias federativas del país. La Real Federación Española de Taekwondo (RFET) agrupa a más de 100.000 practicantes distribuidos en 17 federaciones autonómicas.
Pioneers
The Pioneers — Master Kim Jae Won and the King
Taekwondo arrives in Spain with royal patronage
Taekwondo arrived in Spain in 1968 thanks to the Korean Master Yoo Hoon Cho, who introduced the discipline when it was still called 'Korean Karate'. General Choi Hong-hi personally visited Spain in 1968 and 1973 to witness the efforts of the pioneer community.
Master Kim Jae Won — 9th Dan — was one of the first to establish stable academies. His demonstrations were so renowned that the King Emeritus Juan Carlos I attended several and even took private lessons. For years TKD remained under the umbrella of the Spanish Judo Federation, until in 1969 it was recognised as an independent sport. The first formal academies were established in Madrid and Barcelona.
“King Emeritus Juan Carlos I attended demonstrations by Master Kim Jae Won — Spanish TKD was born under royal patronage.”
Institutional
Ireno Fargas — first Spanish world champion (1983)
The RFET and the first Copenhagen gold
The Spanish Taekwondo Federation was founded in 1987 as an independent body. The first major world milestone came even earlier: Ireno Fargas Fernández won the 1983 Taekwondo World Championship in Copenhagen, in -84 kg, becoming the first Spaniard — and third European — to win a world title. He had won the European Championship in Rome in 1982 and prevailed in five consecutive bouts. In his later coaching career he reached 20 world finals, winning 10 (one as athlete, nine as coach).
Coral Bistuer Ruiz was a ten-time absolute Spanish champion, five-time European champion and two-time world champion. Her victory in the demonstration TKD event at Barcelona 92 (Palau Blaugrana) is part of Spanish sporting folklore. Jesús Tortosa completed the trilogy of that era: three-time European champion (1980, 1982, 1988) and fourth at the Seoul 1988 demonstration Games.
“Ireno Fargas — first Spanish world champion (Copenhagen, 1983) — first Spaniard and third European to win a WT World Championship.”
Olympic Debut
Gabriel Esparza — silver in Sydney 2000
The first official Olympic medal in Spanish TKD history
Taekwondo made its debut as an official Olympic sport in Sydney 2000, and Spain was on the podium from the very first moment. Gabriel Esparza claimed the silver medal in -58 kg, becoming the first official Olympic medallist of Spanish TKD.
At Athens 2004 the Spanish participation was broad but without medals. The 2000–2004 period saw the emergence of the generation that would dominate the next cycle: Brigitte Yagüe began stacking up European titles. Spain established itself as the continental power most consistently bringing athletes to the medal round at WT World Championships.
“Gabriel Esparza — Olympic silver in Sydney 2000 in TKD's official debut, the first official Olympic medal in Spanish TKD history.”
Brigitte Yagüe
Three world titles in three different categories
The most decorated athlete in WT World Championships in Spanish history
Brigitte Yagüe Enrique (born 15 March 1981 in Palma de Mallorca) is the most decorated athlete in World Championships in Spanish Taekwondo history. She started the sport at age 10 and built an unprecedented record: three world titles — Garmisch-Partenkirchen 2003, Beijing 2007 and Copenhagen 2009 — all in different weight categories, a feat no other Spanish female athlete has matched. She competed in six World Championships and won a medal at every single one. She also conquered four European Championships (1998, 2002, 2004, 2008).
At the London 2012 Olympic Games, at 31, she reached the -49 kg final and won the silver medal, losing to China's Wu Jingyu 1-8. She retired in October 2015 to found her own dojang in Mallorca, and currently collaborates as a technical staff member with the Spanish national team.
“Brigitte Yagüe — three world titles in three different categories (2003, 2007, 2009) — no other Spanish athlete has reached that record in TKD.”
London 2012
Three medals in one day — the historic haul
González gold, Yagüe silver, García silver — the greatest night in Spanish TKD
The London 2012 Olympic Games represent the greatest collective success of Spanish Taekwondo: three medals at the same Olympics. Joel González Bonilla (born 30 September 1989 in Figueres, Girona) won gold in -58 kg by defeating South Korean Lee Dae-hoon — 2011 world champion — 17 to 8. It was the only Olympic gold in the history of Spanish Taekwondo and the first ever for Spain in this sport. González was already a two-time world champion (2009 and 2011) and two-time European champion (2010 and 2012).
Brigitte Yagüe won silver in -49 kg. Nicolás García Hemme claimed silver in -80 kg, the best Spanish men's performance at any Olympics since the Olympic debut. Under Technical Director Jesús Tortosa — architect of 28 world medals (10 golds) prior to 2012 — Spanish TKD asserted itself unchallenged as the leading European power.
“London 2012: González gold (-58 kg), Yagüe silver (-49 kg), García silver (-80 kg) — three medals on the greatest night of Spanish Taekwondo.”
New Era
Eva Calvo, Adriana Cerezo and the continuity of excellence
Silver in Rio 2016, silver in Tokyo 2020 — Spain doesn't stop
Eva Calvo Gómez (born 25 October 1994 in Madrid) won world bronze in 2013, world silver in 2015, the European Championship in 2014, and the Olympic silver medal at Rio 2016 in -57 kg. Adriana Cerezo Iglesias (born 8 November 2003 in San Sebastián de los Reyes) won Olympic silver at Tokyo 2020 aged just 17, becoming a social and sporting phenomenon in Spain. In 2023 she won gold at the Krakow European Games and bronze at the Worlds.
In 2023, Spain dominated the WT Grand Prix Final as the nation with the most total medals (five podiums in Manchester). The Spanish International Open (La Nucía, Alicante) is a G1 tournament on the WT ranking that Spain hosts annually. At Wuxi 2025, Lena Moreno won bronze at the Worlds — Spain's first medal at that championship in years.
“Adriana Cerezo — Olympic silver at Tokyo 2020 aged just 17 — is the face of Spanish TKD in the 21st century.”
Taekwondo en España
- ›Oro olímpico Londres 2012 (-58 kg) — único oro olímpico del TKD español
- ›Bronce olímpico Río 2016 (-68 kg)
- ›Doble campeón mundial WT (2009, 2011)
- ›Doble campeón europeo (2010, 2012)
- ›Medalla de Oro de la Real Orden del Mérito Deportivo
- ›3 títulos mundiales WT en 3 categorías distintas (2003, 2007, 2009)
- ›Plata olímpica Londres 2012 (-49 kg)
- ›4 Campeonatos de Europa (1998, 2002, 2004, 2008)
- ›Medalla en los 6 Mundiales en que participó
- ›Plata olímpica Tokio 2020 (-49 kg) — con 17 años
- ›Oro Juegos Europeos Cracovia 2023
- ›Bronce Mundial WT 2023
- ›Líder ranking mundial -49 kg (2023–2024)
- ›Campeón mundial Copenhague 1983 (-84 kg) — 1er español, 3er europeo
- ›Campeón de Europa Roma 1982
- ›20 finales mundiales como entrenador, 10 títulos (9 como coach)
Sigue explorando
La historia del Taekwondo continúa en cada dojang, en cada clase, en cada estudiante.