Carmen Marton
What does going to the Olympics mean for you? It's an amazing feeling! I am very proud to represent my country. Although it is an enormous honour, it also comes with a huge responsibility to prepare and perform to the best of my ability. So I have taken the position on very seriously!
How did you feel when you made the team? It was bitter sweet to be honest as my sister Caroline was very close to making the team also. Unfortunately she was denied that opportunity in the final Olympic qualification tournament due to a refereeing error. So it was very hard for the both of us and still makes me sad to this day as I didn't simply want to go to the Olympics- I wanted compete with my sister by my side!
What are you looking forward to most about London? I am looking forward to my competition day! I have pushed myself harder then I ever have before so I am excited to fight with a new level of fitness, strength and mental power!
Carmen Marton's Sport for Women profile
Carmen Marton's Australian Olympic Team profile
Taekwondo 101
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Jargon buster
Dobok: The white uniform worn by competitors.
Deuk-jeom: A point.
Gam-jeom: A one-point penalty.
Chung: The contestant wearing blue.
Hong: The contestant wearing red.
Taekwonda: A taekwondo athlete.
Basic rules
The athletes compete on a mat inside an eight-by-eight metre zone, over three rounds of two minutes and are divided into different weight categories, for women they are 49kg, 57kg, 67kg and +67kg.
The aim is to land accurate kicks and punches on the scoring area of their opponent.
A kick or punch to your opponent’s torso scores one point, an additional point is awarded if the attacker has his back to his opponent at the point of contact – so spinning kicks score two points.
Punches to the head are illegal, but kicks score three points. To be valid, shots must be of sufficient force.
If the scores are level after three rounds, a fourth “sudden death” round is held to determine the winner.
In the Olympics there are 64 fighters in each gender and 16 in each weight category who compete in a straight knockout tournament with the final two playing for gold and silver.
All fighters who lose to one of the two finalists enter another tournament to earn a chance to play the defeated semi-finalists for one of the two bronze medals.
