Arlene Limas (born February 9, 1966)[1] is an American taekwondo practitioner and multiple international gold medalist of Mexican and Polish descent.

Arlene Limas
Personal information
Born (1966-02-09) February 9, 1966 (age 58)
United States
Alma materDe Paul University (1990)
Medal record
Women's Taekwondo
Representing the  United States
Olympic Games (demonstration)
Gold medal – first place 1988 Seoul Welterweight (60–65 kg)
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 1991 Athens Welterweight

Early life and education

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Limas graduated with honors from Whitney Young Magnet High School in Chicago and studied political science at De Paul University in 1990.[2]

Career

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Limas made history when she became the first American to win a gold medal at the 24th Olympic Games in Seoul, Korea in taekwondo, which made its Olympic debut as an exhibition sport.[3] She is a member of the Taekwondo Hall of Fame.[2] Limas was inducted June 20, 2019 into the National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame located in Troy, Michigan.

Career achievements

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  • 1986 - World University Championships, Gold Medalist (Berkeley, California)
  • 1987 - National Championships Gold Medalist
  • 1988 - Olympic Team Member (Tae Kwon Do)
  • 1988 - Olympic Gold Medalist - Welterweight Division, Seoul, Korea
  • 1990 - National Championships Gold Medalist
  • 1989,1990 - Olympic Sports Festival Captain (West Team) and gold medalist
  • 1990 - Pan-Am Tae Kwon Do Championships (Puerto Rico) Gold Medalist
  • 1990 - World University Games (Spain) Team Captain & Gold Medalist
  • 1990 - World Cup Gold Medalist (Spain)
  • 1991 - National Championships Welterweight Gold Medalist
  • 1991 - Olympic Festival Gold Medalist
  • 1991 - World Championships Gold Medalist (Athens, Greece)
  • 1989 - National Championships Gold Medalist
  • 1998 - U.S. Team Trials Silver Medalist
  • 1998 - Olympic Weight Division Qualifier Gold Medalist
  • 1998 - Choson Cup Olympic Weight Division Invitational Gold Medalist, (Australia)
  • 1998 - Pan Am Games Team Trials Silver Medalist
  • 1999 - U.S. Team Trials Gold Medalist

Career honors

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  • 2007 - Taekwondo Hall of Fame
  • 1987 - Collegiate Athlete of the Year
  • 1989 - March of Dimes Amateur Athlete of the Year
  • 1989 - Named "Woman of Vision" - Latin Women's Organization for Business Professional Involvement
  • 1991 - U. S. Taekwondo Union "Woman of the Year"
  • 2000 - Selected as one of the top TKD fighters of the 20th century by TKD Times and Martial Arts Illustrated
  • 2011 - Owner and founder of "Power Kix Martial Arts" Tae Kwon Do studio in Stafford, Virginia

References

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  1. ^ "LIMAS, Arlene". TaekwondoData.com. Retrieved October 1, 2014.
  2. ^ a b "Arlene Limas". LaCancha.com.
  3. ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Taekwondo at the 1988 Seoul Summer Games: Women's Welterweight". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 2018-09-19.
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