Hwang, Crismanich earn taekwondo gold

South Korea's Hwang Kyung Seon repeated as Olympic champion of the women's 67-kilogram taekwondo weight class Friday, while Argentina's Sebastian Eduardo Crismanich claimed gold in the men's 80kg division.

Hwang guaranteed herself a third consecutive Olympic medal when she defeated Slovenia's Franka Anic in the semifinals, then beat Turkey's Nur Tatar by a 12-5 margin in the final.

The 26-year-old Hwang won bronze at the 2004 Athens Games, then reached the top step of the podium four years ago in Beijing.

The United States' Paige McPherson lost to Tatar in the quarterfinals, but made it through repechage to beat Anic for a bronze medal. German Helena Fromm earned the other.

Crismanich earned his gold thanks to a pair of close finishes. He beat Armenian Arman Yeremyan by a 2-1 score in the semis, then topped Spain's Nicolas Garcia Hemme in the final, 1-0.

Great Britain's Lutalo Muhammad beat Yeremyan for one bronze, while Italy's Mauro Sarmiento took the other.

American Steven Lopez, part of the Lopez taekwondo family, lost his opening match and never made it to repechage. He is a two-time gold medalist and won bronze in 2008.