A statue has been erected to symbolize the eternal association between the ‘national sport’ taekwondo and the Olympic Games.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) unveiled a statue of taekwondo at the Olympic Museum in Lausanne, Switzerland, on Friday.

The ceremony was attended by IOC President Thomas Bach and WTF President Choi Joong-won, as well as IOC Vice-President Sermien Ng, IOC Member Kim Jae-yul, World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) President Riccardo Fracari and FISU Acting President Leonz Eder.

Of the 35 official sports across the Summer (28) and Winter (7) Olympic Games, only 10, including taekwondo, have had a sculpture installed at the Olympic Museum. The taekwondo sculpture is located near the entrance to the museum and right next to the Olympic Flame, which burns forever. The sculpture commemorates the 50th anniversary of the WTF, while also demonstrating the triple threat of taekwondo and the Olympics.

The Taekwondo sculpture at the Olympic Museum was created by Italian sculptor Milos Ippoliti, 40, and took more than a year to complete.

On a 25-centimeter-thick octagonal pedestal, it depicts two taekwondo athletes attempting to throw back kicks at each other. Their headgear, complete with electronic helmets, symbolizes “Olympic Taekwondo.

“I am honored and delighted to see this iconic sculpture at the Olympic Museum,” said Bach in his congratulatory remarks. “The statue shows that taekwondo has secured a strong place in the Olympic program and in the international community.”

On this day, the WTF-established Taekwondo Charity Foundation (THF) was awarded the Olympic Cup by the IOC.

The Olympic Cup was established in 1906 at the initiative of Baron Pierre Coubertin, the “Father of the Modern Olympic Movement,” and is now 117 years old. It is awarded annually to an institution or organization that has made a significant contribution to the promotion of amateur sports and the development of the Olympic Games. While the THF is not directly associated with the Olympic Games, it was honored for its contribution to world peace through taekwondo.

The THF has been conducting educational 사설토토 support programs to teach taekwondo free of charge to refugee youth who have been displaced by war or natural disasters.