Paris Olympics 2024: Skylar Park wins bronze in taekwondo [Video]

PARIS –

Spurred by a bit of luck, Skylar Park went the distance to reach the Olympic podium in Paris.

Park defeated Lebanon’s Laetitia Aoun 2-0 for a bronze medal in women’s taekwondo Thursday evening almost 12 hours after her first match of the day, and long after her 5:40 a.m. alarm.

“I don’t think it’s sunk in yet, but when that final buzzer went off, it was just pure joy and gratitude for what we’ve been through as a team and my family and everything all combined,” Park said.

The 25-year-old from Winnipeg alluded to an injury she was reluctant to discuss, saying “eight months ago, I didn’t know if I’d be well enough to be here and competing.”

Park, who fights in the 57-kilogram division, won her morning bout 2-0 over Dominika Hronova of Czechia before dropping her afternoon quarterfinal 2-0 to Kim Yujin of South Korea.

Canada’s Skylar Park, …