Olympics 24: Disappointment for Jack Woolley in Paris

Tallaght’s Jack Woolley of South Dublin Taekwondo Club was unfortunately beaten 2-0 in his last 16 bout by Gashim Magomedoa of Azerbaijan at the Paris Olympics today.

However, if the Azerbaijani fighter wins his next two matches today to advance to the gold medal contest, Woolley will get another chance through the repechage round.

Woolley made his Paris debut at La Grand Palais, losing out 2-0 in a tough last 16 contest against Azerbaijan’s Gashim Magomedov.

The Tallaght man went down 4-0 in the opening minute of the match with Magomedov securing a body punch and head kick in quick succession. Woolley brought it back to 4-1, but with 13 seconds on the clock, Magomedov called for a video review, which was accepted, and took a 7-1 lead for a head kick.

Woolley fought back in the closing seconds with two body punches to finish the first round 7-3 in favour of his opponent.

Woolley led 4-3 early in the second round, but with 30 seconds on the clock, his opponent rallied to lead 11-5 with five seconds remaining. Woolley got as close as 9-12 but lost three points after a long video review for an illegal kick. Two final points for Woolley saw the round end 12-7 with Magomedov advancing to the quarter final later today.

The Tallaght trailblazer said: “I’m obviously devasted. We’ve met twice before and it was 1-1. The fact that he’s a good opponent makes it good for me because, if he makes it to the final, I can get back in and hopefully fight for a bronze medal. That’s out of my hands now. I’ll be ready to go back into the ring if that chance comes.”

“In my sport everything can be over in half an hour. The repechage system is really good, it just adds a little hype and hope, and for me to go out and put in another performance would be a dream come true.

“Only a certain amount of people get to call themselves Olympians in this sport, and to even call myself an Irish Olympian in this sport two times, nobody else has done it before. I hope that I’m able to inspire the young kids at home that they can get to this level and who knows, maybe there’s another four years in me.”

On competing in one of Paris’ most historic and spectacular venues; the Grand Palais, Woolley said: “It’s absolutely beautiful, the best stadium that has ever been in this sport, and I think it will be the best stadium that’s ever been in our sport for decades to come. Nothing will ever compare to this.”

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