Sonia Reyes

Sonia Reyes Sáez[lower-alpha 1] (born 30 October 1977) is a Spanish taekwondo practitioner, who competed in the women's featherweight category. She was born in Guadalajara.[2] Considered one of the world's top favorites in her respective category, Reyes picked up a total of five medals in her career, including three bronze from the World Taekwondo Championships, and finished fourth in the 57-kg division at the 2004 Summer Olympics.[3][4] Throughout her sporting career, Reyes trained full-time for Club Sung Dae Kwan in Madrid, under head coach and master Song Dae-young.

Sonia Reyes
Personal information
Full nameSonia Reyes Sáez
Nationality Spain
Born (1977-10-30) 30 October 1977[1]
Guadalajara, Spain
Height1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Weight57 kg (126 lb)
Sport
SportTaekwondo
Event(s)57 kg
ClubClub Sung Dae Kwan
Coached bySong Dae-young
Medal record
Women's taekwondo
Representing  Spain
World Championships
Bronze medal – third place 1999 Edmonton 59 kg
Bronze medal – third place 2001 Jeju City 59 kg
Bronze medal – third place 2003 Garmisch 59 kg
European Championships
Silver medal – second place 2000 Patras 59 kg
Bronze medal – third place 2002 Samsun 59 kg

Reyes started her taekwondo career by becoming a bronze medalist in the 51-kg division at the 1992 European Junior Championships in Paris, France. Seven years later, she picked up another bronze on her first senior stint in the podium at the World Championships in Edmonton, Canada. Although she failed to earn a spot on the Spanish team to the 2000 Summer Olympics, Reyes continued to achieve remarkable results and yield more medals in her career list, including a silver from the European Championships in Patras, Greece, losing the final to Dutch fighter Virginia Lourens.[3]

At the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Reyes qualified for the Spanish taekwondo squad in the women's featherweight class (57 kg) by granting a berth and placing first in the final match against Russia's Margarita Mkrtchyan from the European Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Baku, Azerbaijan.[5] She opened her match with a marvelous 11–2 victory over Poland's Aleksandra Uścińska, before narrowly losing the quarterfinal to South Korean taekwondo jin and world-ranked no. 2 Jang Ji-won at 2–3.[6] In the repechage rounds, Reyes came from behind to dispatch Ivory Coast's Mariam Bah (5–0) and Thailand's Nootcharin Sukkhongdumnoen (6–3) for a chance to compete in the bronze medal match, where she fell short to Mexico's Iridia Salazar with a close 2–1 record, relegating Reyes to fourth position.[4][7][8]

Notes
  1. In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Reyes and the second or maternal family name is Sáez.

References
  1. Sonia Reyes at Olympedia
  2. Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Sonia Reyes". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
  3. "Sonia Reyes y Omar Abadía engordan el medallero español" [Sonia Reyes and Omar Abadía secures the medal for Spain] (in Spanish). Diario de León. 29 September 2003. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
  4. "Taekwondo success for Jang". BBC Sport. 27 August 2004. Retrieved 23 December 2014.
  5. "Athens 2004: Taekwondo – Women's Entry List by NOC" (PDF). Athens 2004. LA84 Foundation. pp. 5–7. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
  6. "Sonia Reyes pierde el combate por el bronce" [Sonia Reyes loses the fight for the bronze] (in Spanish). ABC. 27 August 2004. Retrieved 28 December 2014.
  7. "Taekwondo – Women's Featherweight (57kg/126lbs) Bronze Medal Final". Athens 2004. BBC Sport. 12 August 2004. Retrieved 24 September 2013.
  8. "Sonia Reyes se quedó a un paso del bronce" [Sonia Reyes came so close to take the bronze] (in Spanish). El País. 28 August 2004. Retrieved 28 December 2014.


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