The purpose of this study was to compare characteristics of medal winners (gold, silver, and bronze) who competed in the 2012 London Olympic Games against non-winners. A descriptive comparison was analyzed between data from the 2000, 2004, 2008, and 2...
The purpose of this study was to compare characteristics of medal winners (gold, silver, and bronze) who competed in the 2012 London Olympic Games against non-winners. A descriptive comparison was analyzed between data from the 2000, 2004, 2008, and 2012 Olympic Taekwondo competitions. It was expected that there would be no difference in physiological composition between winners and non-winners; however, there was an expectation that winners and non-winners showed differences in strategy. Participant data was obtained from the official 2012 Olympic website and weigh-in results. A logistic regression was used to compare winners versus non-winners, and statistical analysis was conducted using the STATA version 10 software. No statistically significant association was found between winners versus non-winners in how kicks and punches scored or warnings for either gender. A significant odds ratio (OR) of 0.62 found that more kicks were associated with winning in males than in females. We also found more kicks per match were associated with winning in males than in females. In terms of strategic differences between winners and non-winners, there were no statistical significances found within the data. In terms of physiological differences between winners and non-winners, there were no statistical significances found even in comparison to previous years. Comparisons between the previous competitions and the results of the OR showed that winning was best achieved through an offensive strategy that involved both the use of kicks and an increased frequency of punches. It was also determined an offensive strategy should be considered by coaches for future competitions.