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Omar Salim

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Omar Salim
Personal information
Birth nameOmar Gergely Salim
Born (2003-04-12) 12 April 2003 (age 21)
Carson, California, U.S.
Weight54 kg (119 lb)
Sport
CountryHungary
SportTaekwondo
Event(s)Finweight
Flyweight
ClubSalim's Taekwondo Center
MTK Budapest (2019–)
Coached byGergely Salim (father)
Medal record
Men's taekwondo
Representing  Hungary
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2022 Guadalajara 54 kg
European Championships
Gold medal – first place 2021 Sofia 54 kg
Gold medal – first place 2022 Manchester 54 kg
Gold medal – first place 2024 Belgrade 63 kg
European Junior Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2019 Marina D'Or 45 kg
Representing  United States
Pan American Junior Championships
Gold medal – first place 2019 Portland 45 kg

Omar Gergely Salim (born 12 April 2003) is an American-Hungarian taekwondo athlete. He is the youngest son of Gergely Salim, a former Olympic champion.[1][2][3] He became a Hungarian citizen in 2022.

Career

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He won the gold medal at the 2021 European Taekwondo Championships men's 54 kgs.[4] A month later, he qualified to the 2020 Summer Olympics through the 2021 European Taekwondo Olympic Qualification Tournament. At the Taekwondo event of the Tokyo Olympics he was not able to go beyond the preliminary round.

Personal life

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He is the youngest son of former Olympic, world and european champion Gergely Salim. He is of Tanzanian and Hungarian descent through his father. His uncle József Salim, was also a 6-time European medalist for Hungary. His brother and training partner, Shariff Salim, was Pan American Junior champion in 2019, alongside him.

One of his main supporters and sponsors is Swedish footballer Zlatan Ibrahimović, as he used to train with master Gergely Salim at his dojang Salim's Taekwondo Center in Los Angeles. Zlatan played for LA Galaxy from 2018 to 2019 and was always passionate about taekwondo.[5][6]

References

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  1. ^ "Home". Salim's Taekwondo Center. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
  2. ^ Pegher, Kelcie. "Meet the family of taekwondo champions in Redondo Beach". The Beach Reporter. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
  3. ^ "SALIM Omar". Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Archived from the original on 21 July 2021. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
  4. ^ "Teenagers take gold on opening day of European Taekwondo C.. [World Taekwondo]". m.worldtaekwondo.org. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
  5. ^ "Ibrahimovic's Favorite Eyes Hungary's First Olympic Gold in Taekwondo". Hungary Today. 21 July 2021. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
  6. ^ "Zlatan Ibrahimović support tweet". Twitter. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
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