Olympics 24: ‘Not every guy from Tallaght can say he’s a two time Olympian’
Irish Taekwondo star Jack Woolley from Tallaght got a deserved second bite of the cherry when the man who defied his seeding (10th) and beat him 2-0 in the first round – Azerbaijan’s Gashim Magomedov – went all the way to the -58kg final on Wednesday.
Anyone beaten by the Azeri beforehand then got a second chance through the repechage system, which pitted Woolley against Spain’s number two seed; Adrian Vincente Yunta, just one fight away from one of the two bronze medal bouts.
The 25-year-old Tallaght star (ranked seventh) was narrowly beaten 2-0 (9-10, 2-2) but the margin of his defeat was tiny.
The first round was toe-to-toe and included a four-point score from Woolley with a great rotating kick to the body. He trailed 6-10 with five seconds to go but then claimed another three-point move and lost it by just 9-10.
His opponent just escaped a gam-jeom (penalty) on the buzzer, when the referee used his video review and Woolley explained: “If his foot had hit that mat before the clock hit 0.0, I would have won that round.”
Both men upped their defence in a very cagey second round which was scored 2-2 draw but Woolley lost it on the judges’ countback.
“I think I scored a gam-jeom and a punch, but he scored a body shot which outweighs them. If it’s all equal at the end of the fight, on points, it goes down to contacts,” he explained.
The South Dublin Taekwondo Club star still found great consolation in the quality and closeness of his second fight at the spectacular Grand Palais venue.
“I loved every second of that although the result wasn’t there. I’m proud of myself that I showed a true representation of my ability. Me and that Spanish lad have taken matches off each other. I beat him in the European Championships two years ago. He beat me in the final of the European Games last year. Now, he’s beat me by a point at the Olympics.”
Woolley was also greatly consoled that his initial opponent knocked out the Olympic champion en route to the final.
“I did a lot of psychology work recently. I’m enjoying it and I think that’s all anyone can ask,” he said. “I hope that showed at home and encourages everybody else to get involved in the sport or keep going in it because we’re having fun. It’s the Olympics and not every young guy from Tallaght can say he’s a two time Olympian.”
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