Hwang, Crismanich earn taekwondo gold
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}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.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}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.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}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.