Steven López
Steven López (born November 9, 1978) is an American taekwondo competitor, a 2000 and 2004 Olympic gold medalist (in the -68 and -80 kg divisions, respectively) and a 2008 Olympic bronze medalist (again in the -80 kg division) and 4th Dan in taekwondo. In 2001, he won the Lightweight Taekwondo World Championship, and in 2003 he won the Welterweight Taekwondo World Championship which he has since won in 2005, 2007 and 2009 making him the first Taekwondo fighter to win 5 World Championships. With 2 Olympic titles, 5 titles in taekwondo world championships and 1 title in taekwondo  world cup he is the most titled champion after Hadi Saei who earns 9 world class titles (two Olympic titles in 2004 and 2008, two world championships titles, four world cup titles and one world Olympic qualification tournament). Biography. López was born on November 9, 1978 in New York City to Nicaraguans parents. His parents, Julio and Ondina, moved from Nicaragua to the United States in 1972. In Nicaragua, his father, Julio, worked for the dictator Anastasio Somoza, who was overthrown in 1979 after the Sandinista Revolution. His father took odd jobs to support his family but later relocated to  Texas. López first learned the sport of Taekwondo in his garage at the age of five from his father and Jean, his older brother. He is a 1997 graduate of Kempner High School in Sugar Land, Texas where he was voted "most likely to succeed" and was member of the National Honor Society. López's siblings, Mark, Diana and Jean Lopez (coach), are all USA National Team Members in Taekwondo. His younger siblings, Mark and Diana, also represented the United States at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, marking the first time since 1904 that three siblings have been on the same  Olympic team. Both López and siblings, Mark (men's featherweight) and Diana (women's featherweight), made sports history in April 2005 when they all claimed a world championship title at the same event (2005 World Taekwondo Championships) with their oldest brother, Jean, participating in the feat as their coach. Steven Lopez and Diana Lopez both qualified for the 2012 Olympic games in London in July 2012 at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, CO. On January 2006, López tested positive for a banned substance (L-methamphetamine) which he said came from an over-the-counter vapor inhaler he used . López promptly accepted a three-month suspension and participated in an educational anti-doping program. López has appeared in People Magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People. In 2012, he participated in Fox's dating game show "The Choice". López is a Roman Catholic who attends St. Theresa Catholic Church in Sugar Land, Texas, and has said his faith has always been a very important part of his life. Allegations of sexual misconduct and sexual assault. On June 8, 2017, USA Today published a news items stating that López had been accused of sexual assault and drugging of various female athletes . The accusations presented a repeated pattern of behavior of abuse allegedly perpetrated by López and his brother, Jean Lopez. As of 2020, López and his brother have a preliminary suspension in place enacted by USA Taekwondo which effectively bars them from competing in international Taekwondo competitions.