Teen Taekwondo Sensation Kristina Teachout Didn’t Get To Paris ‘Playing It Safe’

To pursue her dream of reaching the Olympic Games in taekwondo, Kristina Teachout chose to move away from home at age 14 to focus on training and competing. That sacrifice will be richly rewarded this summer in Paris.

At 18 years old, the rising star originally from Palm Bay, Florida, will go to Olympic Games Paris 2024 as the youngest member of the U.S. taekwondo team.

“I feel like it’s an accomplishment,” said Teachout, who will compete in the women’s 67 kg. weight class. “I joined the program when I had just turned 14. I made that sacrifice in order to do this at such a young age. I’m grateful to have been able to achieve my goal that I set for myself.”

Teachout admitted that forgoing a conventional teenage experience was difficult at first, but she adjusted over time.

“I’m cool now, but even like a year ago or two, it was still hard,” she said. “I think it just made me more independent, and it made me grow up faster. Though it was really hard, I wouldn’t change anything because I am who I am today because of it. It’s worth it for me.”

Teachout had been a rising star in the sport — a Florida TV station featured her as far back as 2016 — but her name recognition soared in January when she defeated Anastasija Zolotic at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials. Less than three years earlier in Tokyo, Zolotic became the first U.S. woman to win a gold medal in the sport when she did so at 57 kg.

“Mentally, I feel like I can do anything,” she said of the win over Zolotic. “Even with her accomplishments, that had nothing on me and my belief in myself. I truly believe I’m the best. I wanted to win for myself.”

The final step to realizing the dream Teachout laid out in that WPBF-TV story eight years earlier was earning a top-two finish at the Pan American Qualification Tournament in April in the Dominican Republic — the final Olympic qualifying event.

Upon stamping her ticket there, Teachout is now looking forward to testing herself against the best in Paris.

“Obviously, I want to win gold, but I’m at the point where my objective for myself is to go out there and enjoy it, have fun,” Teachout said. “I want to improve as an athlete when I’m out there.

“I want to see technical gains with myself — win or lose. I just want to enjoy it, and I want to be present the whole time. Those are my main things.”

Regardless of her Olympic results, Teachout has already established herself as a fearless competitor while still a teenager.

“I think what made me special at a young age was how aggressive and how much of a fighter I was, because taekwondo is a very technical sport,” she said. “My style is to fight, and when I do it correctly, it’s what makes me different and it’s what makes me special because no one wants to fight.

“They want to win by points, they want to play it safe, whereas I’m not afraid of getting in there and getting scrappy. I think I’ve always had that edge.”

That probably comes from her early experience as a kickboxer before she and her older sister found taekwondo.

“We used to shop at this grocery store, and my sister saw the school that was right next to it, and she wanted to go, so my parents … signed us up,” Teachout recalled. “That’s how I got started. I was 5 years old.”

Teachout said she may one day return to kickboxing or even try her hand at mixed martial arts, but for now, she’s all in on taekwondo. She currently trains five days a week with two sessions daily. As the Olympics approach, she has attended training camps around the world and has been out of the country more than she’s been home.

“It’s very on-the-go, but I honestly have gotten to the point where I prefer doing that,” Teachout said. “I like being occupied, having things to do. I don’t do good sitting still.”

Teachout still has some coursework to finish before graduating from Florida Virtual School this summer. After the Games, she will turn her attention to college. Beyond that, she will probably look to compete on home soil at Olympic Games Los Angeles 2028.

“It would be sick,” she said.

Teachout continues to document her taekwondo journey on her own YouTube channel, posting videos in hopes of inspiring others.

“I feel like when I was younger, if I would have had someone to look at like me, it would have helped me out,” Teachout said. “If I can share vulnerable things, maybe it can help someone.”

Bob Reinert spent 17 years writing sports for The Boston Globe. He also served as a sports information director at Saint Anselm College and Phillips Exeter Academy. He is a contributor to TeamUSA.com on behalf of Red Line Editorial, Inc.