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Mexico's Espinoza wins +67-kg taekwondo gold

Ian Ransom
BEIJING
Sat Aug 23, 2008 10:50am EDT

BEIJING (Reuters) - Mexico's Maria Espinoza won a taekwondo gold medal in the women's +67-kg category on Saturday, defeating Norway's Nina Solheim 3-1 in the final.

With both fighters initially reluctant to engage the other, Espinoza was the first to take the initiative, landing a chest kick to take an early one-point lead after the first two-minute round.

Espinoza threw caution to the wind early in the third and final stanza, unleashing a series of attacks to unsettle Solheim.

Espinoza shrieked in joy when the referee called time and saluted rowdy Mexican fans and donned a sombrero.

Sarah Stevenson of Britain beat Noha Abd Rabo of Egypt to take bronze. Brazil's Natalia Falavigna recovered from her semi-final loss to Solheim to beat Karolina Kedzierska of Sweden 5-2 in the other bronze decider.

(Editing by Jeremy Laurence)


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