Ahmad Abughaush

Ahmad Abughaush (Arabic: أحمد أبو غوش; born 1 February 1996) is a Jordanian[3] taekwondo athlete.[2] He won the gold medal in the 68 kg category at the 2016 Olympics. This was Jordan's first Olympic medal in any sport, excluding a bronze in 1988 when taekwondo was a demonstration sport.[4]

Ahmad Abughaush
Abughaush at the 2016 Olympics
Personal information
Born (1996-02-01) 1 February 1996
Amman, Amman
EducationAl-Ahliyya Amman University[1]
Height178 cm (5 ft 10 in)[2]
Weight68 kg (150 lb)
Sport
SportTaekwondo
Coached by
  • Laith Othman (personal)
  • Chang Wen-Ping (national)[1]
Medal record
Representing  Jordan
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place2016 Rio de Janeiro68 kg
World Championships
Silver medal – second place2019 Manchester-74 kg
Bronze medal – third place 2017 Muju 68 kg
Grand Prix
Gold medal – first place2017 London68 kg
Bronze medal – third place2017 Moscow68 kg
Asian Games
Bronze medal – third place2018 Jakarta68 kg
Universiade
Bronze medal – third place2017 Taipei68 kg
World Junior Championships
Gold medal – first place2012 Sharm El-Sheikh63 kg
Asian Junior Championships
Gold medal – first place2012 Ho Chi Minh City63 kg

Biography

Abughaush was born in Amman, Jordan.[5] His father is of Palestinian descent, his grandparents having been relocated from the town of Abu Ghosh to Jordan decades earlier.[6]

Abughaush started Taekwondo at a local training center in Amman, his skills qualified him for inclusion in the national team. In 2010, he participated in the Taekwondo World Championship for juniors that was held in Sharm el-Sheikh, where he was the only Arab athlete to achieve a gold medal. The year later he competed as an elite at the 2011 World Taekwondo Championships in the men's finweight event and was beaten by Meisam Bagheri in the 16th finals. He participated in a number of more championships and was given the best Jordanian athlete award by the Jordan Olympic Committee in 2012.[1] Abugaush took a year off in 2013 after he had suffered a rupture in the cruciate ligament, he soon returned to training and won gold medals in a number of international championships in 2014.[7]

2016 Summer Olympics

Abughaush competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, in the men's 68 kg,[2] where he won the gold medal, defeating Alexey Denisenko from Russia.[8] This was Jordan's first ever Olympic medal.[4] Abughaush told the press "it's an indescribable feeling to win the first medal in the history of Jordan in all the sports" and said "it's also a great feeling to listen to the national anthem of Jordan being played in Rio in front of the whole world."[6]

In an interview with Ro'ya TV, Abughaush's parents said that "Ahmad's accomplishment is an honour to Jordan". They went on to thank the Jordan Olympic Committee and the Jordanian Royal family for their support, namely King Abdullah II, Crown Prince Hussein and Prince Ali.[9] King Abdullah and Prince Hussein personally called Abughaush to congratulate him on his accomplishment, while Prince Ali, who is well known for sponsoring sports in Jordan, had also personally supported Abughaush's path to the Olympics.[10]

The Jordan Olympic Committee issued a 100,000 JD (around $141,000) award for Abughaush and a 50,000 JD (around $71,000) for his coach Faris Al-Assaf, upon their return from Rio. Queen Alia International Airport witnessed a large public celebration for Abughaush and the Olympic delegation.[11]

References
  1. Ahmad Abughaush Archived 2016-09-02 at the Wayback Machine. nbcolympics.com
  2. "Ahmad Abughaush". rio2016.com. Archived from the original on 26 August 2016. Retrieved 18 August 2016.
  3. والمعلومات, قسم الأرشيف (2018-11-12). أرشيف نشرة فلسطين اليوم: آب/ أغسطس 2016: Palestine Today Newspaper Archive_8-2016 (in Arabic). مركز الزيتونة للدراسات والاستشارات. Archived from the original on 2020-12-04. Retrieved 2020-12-04.
  4. "Abu Ghaush scores gold in Jordan's first Olympic gold medal win". Jordan Times. 19 August 2016. Archived from the original on 20 August 2016. Retrieved 21 August 2016.
  5. Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Ahmad Abughaush". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 21 October 2019.
  6. "Taekwondo fighter makes Jordan's first Olympic medal gold". Middle East Eye. 20 August 2016. Archived from the original on 20 August 2016. Retrieved 20 August 2016.
  7. "نجم التايكواندو أحمد أبو غوش يبحث عن الإنجاز الأولمبي في ريو". Alghad (in Arabic). 20 July 2016. Archived from the original on 22 August 2016. Retrieved 21 August 2016.
  8. "Ahmad Abughaush won the men's −68kg taekwondo title to give Jordan a first medal at an Olympic Games". BBC Sport. 19 August 2016. Archived from the original on 19 August 2016. Retrieved 20 August 2016.
  9. "عائلة البطل أحمد أبوغوش تتحدث لرؤيا ..صور وتفاصيل". Ro'ya TV (in Arabic). 19 August 2016. Archived from the original on 23 August 2016. Retrieved 20 August 2016.
  10. "الملك يتصل بالبطل ابو غوش مهنئا". Shams News (in Arabic). 19 August 2016. Archived from the original on 21 August 2016. Retrieved 20 August 2016.
  11. "JOC to award JD100,000 to Abu Ghaush for Olympic win". The Jordan Times. 25 August 2016. Archived from the original on 27 August 2016. Retrieved 27 August 2016.
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