Tina Morgan

Tina Michelle Tanrıkulu (née Morgan, born 10 August 1982) is an Australian taekwondo coach and former international competitor.[1][2] She represented her country at the 2004 and 2008 Summer Olympics, placing fifth in the latter competition. In 2006, Morgan became the first Australian taekwondo competitor to win a World Cup title.[1] She started working as a coach for Turkish taekwondo club Ankaragücü in 2011.[3]

For the New Zealand Paralympian who competed in athletics and swimming, see Tina Morgan (Paralympian).

Tina Tanrıkulu
BornTina Michelle Morgan
(1982-08-10) 10 August 1982
Townsville, Australia
ResidencePerth, Western Australia
NationalityAustralian
StyleTaekwondo
Teacher(s)Jin-Tae Jeong, Daniel Trenton
OccupationTaekwondo coach
SpouseBahri Tanrıkulu
Medal record
Women's taekwondo
Representing  Australia
World Taekwondo Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2003 GermanyLightweight 59–63 kg
World Cup
Gold medal – first place 2006 Bangkok Welterweight 63–67 kg
Asian Championships
Silver medal – second place 2002 Jordan Featherweight 55–59 kg

Early life

Morgan was born on 10 August 1982 in Townsville, Queensland, Australia.[1] She moved to Perth as a child and completed her secondary schooling at Woodvale Senior High School.[1] She recalls first having been inspired to become an Olympic athlete when watching the weightlifting competition at the 1988 Summer Olympics.[1] Originally, she had planned to compete in gymnastics, but was told she would grow too tall; she then tried other sports.[1]

In 1994, Morgan was inspired to begin training in taekwondo after watching her brother training in the martial art at the local gymnasium.[1] During her school years, she was also a Western Australian state champion in competitive aerobics, as well as playing football, netball, and tennis.[1]

Morgan earned a tertiary diploma in tourism management in Victoria and a Bachelor of Science degree in psychology from the University of Southern Queensland.[1] At national and international level, she trained in taekwondo at the Western Australian Institute of Sport and the Victorian Institute of Sport.[1] Her Olympic coaches have included Jin-Tae Jeong (from 2002 to 2004) and Daniel Trenton (from 2005 to 2008).[1]

Competitive taekwondo career

Morgan was listed at 173 cm (5' 8") in height and 64 kg (141 lb.) in weight.[1] She competed in the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens (+67 kg) and the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing (–67 kg). Morgan lost her first match in Athens against Brazilian athlete Natália Falavigna da Silva.[2] In 2006, Morgan became the first Australian taekwondo athlete to win a World Cup Title and to be ranked Number 1 in the world in her division.[1]

Morgan managed to qualify for the 2008 Summer Olympics despite sustaining a major knee injury less than a year before Olympic Qualifications, with orthopaedic Surgeon Hayden Morris performing a repair operation using donor tissue to reduce recovery time.[4] The operation involved transplanting a deceased person's patella tendon into Morgan's knee.[4] Her hopes of fighting for a gold medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics were dashed when she lost a third-round match to Canadian Karine Sergerie on decision.[5][6] Morgan eventually placed fifth after she lost the bronze medal match against French competitor Gwladys Épangue 4–1.[2]

Post-competition career

On 29 January 2009, Morgan married Turkish taekwondo competitor and Olympic silver medallist Bahri Tanrıkulu in Perth.[7] At the time, Morgan said that she was looking forward to coaching future taekwondo competitors.[7]

See also

References
  1. "Tina Morgan". Official Site of the 2008 Australian Olympic Team. Australian Olympic Committee. Archived from the original on 2 October 2009. Retrieved 21 April 2010.
  2. Australian Olympic Committee: Tina Tanrikulu (nee Morgan) (c. 2009). Retrieved on 21 April 2010.
  3. "Tina Tanrıkulu Ankaragücü'nde". Hurriyet (in Turkish). 18 July 2011. Retrieved 13 July 2013.
  4. McArthur, G. (2007): Tina Morgan set for 2008 Olympic Games tae kwon do Herald Sun (24 September 2007). Retrieved on 21 April 2010.
  5. Anonymous (2008): Tina Morgan cries foul after Beijing Olympics taekwondo loss The Australian (22 August 2008). Retrieved on 21 April 2010.
  6. Hinds, R. (2008): Dead legs and another kick in the teeth The Age (23 August 2008). Retrieved on 21 April 2010.
  7. Anonymous (2009): Getting a kick out of marriage Community News (4 February 2009). Retrieved on 21 April 2010.
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