CJ Nickolas

Personal

• Parents are Denise Nickolas and Edward Givans
• Started taekwondo at age 3 with his whole family and began competing at age 6
• Started to become serious about the sport around age 11
• Competed in track in middle and high school
• Had heart surgery in 2020
• Moved to Colorado Springs in 2019 to join the USATKD Academy team
• Credits his mother as his biggest inspiration
• Won silver at the 2023 World Taekwondo Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan, the first U.S. taekwondo medal at worlds since 2009
• Favorite non-taekwondo athlete is Kobe Bryant
• Favorite movie is Wes Anderson's film, The French Dispatch
• Hobbies include collecting records, legos, making music/singing and watching movies

World Championships Experience

• Most recent: 2023 – silver (Welterweight 74-80kg - Men)
• Years of participation: Welterweight 74-80kg - Men 2022, 2023; Featherweight 63-68kg - Men 2019
• Medals: 1 (1 silver)
• Silver – 2023 (Welterweight 74-80kg - Men)

Career Highlights

• Pan American Games, Santiago, 2023 (Welterweight 68-80kg - Men)
• Pan American Games, Lima, 2019 (Featherweight 58-68kg - Men)
• World Junior Championships, Hammamet, 2018 (Light Middleweight 63-68kg - Men)

Olympic Experience

• 1-time Olympian
• Olympic Games Paris 2024, 5th (Welterweight 68-80kg - Men)