Support truly
independent journalism
Great Britain’s Caden Cunningham had to settle for Olympic silver after being beaten by Iran’s Arian Salimi in the final of the men’s +80kg category in Paris.
The 21-year-old from Huddersfield won the first round 6-3 but was edged out in the next two as the Iranian pulled away to ensure his nation’s third taekwondo gold.
Cunningham’s medal sealed a gutsy comeback from a serious knee injury in his opening bout at the 2022 World Championships in Mexico, which forced him out of action for a number of months.
Growing slowly into his first Olympics, he appeared overly cautious in an initial win over Niger’s Abdoul Issoufou, before riding his luck to win the final round of his next bout against Cuba’s former two-time world champion Rafael Alba.
That win set Cunningham up with a semi-final showdown against the Ivory Coast’s Cheick Sallah Cisse, the reigning world champion and an all-too-familiar name to the British camp after his last-second win over Lutalo Muhammad in the 2016 Olympic final.
Muhammad watched from the mixed zone as the pair shared the opening two rounds before a thrilling, see-sawing third ended level and led to Cunningham being advanced into his first major final on the basis of unscored registrations – the number of shots that are too light to register.
It was the latest stage of a steep trajectory for Cunningham, who rebounded from his injury to win the World Grand Prix title in Italy in 2023, followed by European Games and European titles respectively.
Great Britain team-mate Rebecca McGowan missed out on a place on the podium when she was beaten by reigning heavyweight world champion Nafia Kus in their bronze medal match.
McGowan had recovered well from a comprehensive earlier defeat to Uzbekistan’s Svetlana Osipova to bound through the repechage but despite taking the first round, she found her Turkish opponent too tough to crack.
She said: “”In taekwondo the little things make the match. It’s gutting. It’s a little heart-breaking right now.
“Losing the review was a turning point but it’s the sport I chose, the life I chose. At some point I have to deal with it and pick myself up.”
