Well, there has been some ruckus about the age of some of the Olympic contestants recently - here's proof that at least one 3 year old came close to getting a medal - but his age got the better of him: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/08/23/sports/s063402D61.DTL Kicked his endorsement income out the window, kicked his career out the window, kicked ANY worthwhile future out the window, pissed off the Cuban government - this guy may NOT have a future.
Can you believe that....unbelievable and it's lucky he didn't hurt the ref worse...had that kick connected with his head he could have killed him...it was a serious kick against a completely defenseless victim. I'm so angry that an athlete would behave that way.
What's even more unbelievable is the number of commenters (different commenters) who seriously APPLAUD the kick! Check out the comments at the bottom of the article. Wow. And I agree, the difference between 2nd degree murder and a split lip was probably a thousandth of an inch and a thousandth of a second.
To it's credit the World Taekwondo Federation immediately announced lifetime bans for both Matos and Gonzalez for what it called "a strong violation of the spirit of taekwondo and the Olympics." I think it is totally justified for Matos. Sportsmanship is the foundation of marital arts. I'm not sure if the coach deserved it, but I wasn't there and wasn't privy to all that was happening, so if the World Taekwondo Federation took these steps, I'm sure they have justification. I applaud them for providing swift consequences.
Cuban coach Leudis Gonzalez offered no apology for Matos' actions during the men's over-80 kg (176 pounds) match. NBC has footage but you might have to install their special viewer plug in. Matos was winning 3-2, with 1:02 in the second round, when he fell to the mat after being hit by his opponent, Kazakhstan's Arman Chilmanov. He was sitting there, awaiting medical attention, when he was disqualified for taking too much injury time. Fighters get one minute, and Matos was disqualified when his time ran out. Matos angrily questioned the call, pushed a judge, then pushed and kicked referee Chakir Chelbat of Sweden. Matos then spat on the floor and was escorted out.
It was Taekwando. I'm surprised he was able to hit hard enough to cut his lip. Still, it's too bad they didn't televise it this year.
I don't normally feed the trolls but, when my grandson was six he accidentally kicked a sparring partner in the mouth and knock out a tooth. I also know two woman who could easily deliver a fatal blow to the average man using Taekwando...
