Gwladys Épangue

Who is Gwladys Épangue?

Gwladys Patience Épangue is a French taekwondo athlete. Representing France at the 2005 World Taekwondo Championships in Madrid, she won the silver medal in the welterweight division, losing to Hwang Kyung-Seon from South Korea in the final. At the 2007 World Taekwondo Championships in Beijing, she won a silver medal, losing to Hwang in the final again.

Épangue represented her country in the - 67 kg class at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and won a bronze medal.

In 2009, Épangue won her first World Championship gold medal in welterweight at the 2009 World Taekwondo Championships in Copenhagen, Denmark. In Round of 32, she edged out South Korean's favorite Park Hye-Mi, who demolished Icelandic champion Auður Jónsdóttir 22-1 in the first round, in overtime. In the semifinal match, Épangue beat European rival Sandra Šarić of Croatia, 2008 European Champion and 4-time World Championship medalist, 6-1.

Épangue withdrew from the 2012 Summer Olympics because of injury was replaced by her compatriot Anne-Caroline Graffe.