COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (January 28, 2016) – USA Taekwondo has announced the eight athletes that will be competing in the three weight divisions at the upcoming U.S. Olympic Selection Team Trials in Reno, Nev., on Feb. 2. The group includes four Olympic medalists, including Steven Lopez (Sugar Land, Texas), who won gold in 2000 and 2004, and bronze in 2008, his brother Mark Lopez (Sugar Land, Texas), a silver medalist in 2008, and 2012 bronze medalists Terrence Jennings (Alexandria, Va.) and Paige McPherson (Sturgis, S.D.).

Winners of the Olympic Selection Team Trials will earn a spot to represent the United States at the Pan American Continental Qualifier on March 10-11 in Aguascalientes, Mexico, with the opportunity to qualify to compete at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. The U.S. has already qualified the female Olympic heavyweight (+67kg) division by virtue of Jackie Galloway's (Wylie, Texas) placing in the top-six of the World Taekwondo Federation's end-of-year rankings.

The list of competitors by division is as follows:

FEMALE OLYMPIC WELTER (Under 67kg)
Lauren Hamon (Miami, Fla.)
Cheyenne Lewis (Elk Grove, Calif.)
Paige McPherson (Sturgis, S.D.)

MALE OLYMPIC WELTER (Under 80kg)
Jaysen Ishida (Waikele, Hawaii)
Terrence Jennings (Alexandria, Va.)
Steven Lopez (Sugar Land, Texas)

MALE OLYMPIC HEAVY (Over 80kg)
Stephen Lambdin (Colleyville, Texas)
Mark Lopez (Sugar Land, Texas)

The doors of the Reno-Sparks Convention Center open at 2:30 p.m. for spectators, with competition starting at 3:00 p.m. Tickets will be available ONLY on the day of the event at the Reno-Sparks Convention Center. Spectators are advised to get to the venue early.

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