Lauren Chantel Burns (born 8 June 1974) is an Australian taekwondo practitioner and Olympic champion.Gordon, H. (c. 2000): Lauren Burns, Taekwondo Retrieved on 26 March 2010. She won Australia's first Olympic gold medal in taekwondo at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, competing in the women's under 49 kg class.Australian Olympic Committee (2003): The compendium: Official Australian Olympic statistics 1896–2003 (p. 12). Saint Lucia, Australia: University of Queensland. () Burns holds the rank of 3rd dan black belt in taekwondo.Burns, L. (2003): The Fighter Retrieved on 26 March 2010; link updated on 23 August 2012. Following her competitive taekwondo career, she has been involved in a range of activities, including motivational speaking and community work.
Early life Burns was born on 8 June 1974 in Melbourne, Australia,Burns, L. (2003): Facts & Info Retrieved on 26 March 2010; link updated on 23 August 2012.databaseOlympics.com: Lauren Burns (2000). Retrieved on 26 March 2010.Taekwondo Queensland: Lauren Burns (October 2004). Retrieved on 26 March 2010. Sports Reference: Lauren Burns (c. 2009). Retrieved on 26 March 2010. the daughter of singer Ronnie Burns and dancer Maggie Burns (née Stewart).ABC Sydney Olympic Games athlete profile: Lauren Burns (2000). Retrieved on 7 April 2008.Gordon, H. (2003): The time of our lives: Inside the Sydney Olympics – Australia and the Olympic Games 1994–2002 (pp. 246–247). Saint Lucia, Australia: University of Queensland. () As a child, she did not participate much in sports. Her younger brother, Michael (then aged 7), became interested in martial arts after watching the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and started learning taekwondo.Burns, L. (2003): Frequently Asked Questions Retrieved on 26 March 2010. Shortly thereafter, their father also began training in taekwondo; together, her father and brother encouraged her (then aged 14) to begin training as well.
Burns began her taekwondo training at Joon No(노의준)'s Taekwondo (JNTKD), she began competing in taekwondo in 1990; she was training under Grandmaster Joon No's direction at the time and became a national team member, her training partner was Donna Scherp.Schiavello, M. (1994): "Addicted to Taekwondo: Lauren Burns." Australasian Taekwondo, 3(1):63–65.Brown, R. (2007): "No limits: Grandmaster Joon No." Australasian Taekwondo, 16(4):26–31.
Competitive taekwondo career
A successful tournament career included 12 Australian women's national taekwondo championships, a bronze medal at the World Cup in 1996,Burns, L. (2003): Achievements Retrieved on 31 March 2010; link updated on 23 August 2012. a bronze medal in the under 51 kg class at the 1997 World Taekwondo Championships in Hong Kong,Sports 123: Taekwondo – World Championships – Women: -51 kg (2007). Retrieved on 13 July 2008. and a gold medal at the US Open taekwondo competition in 1999. Her first appearance at the World Championships was at the 1993 World Taekwondo Championships in New York, and she shared fifth place in the bantamweight division at the 1995 World Taekwondo Championships in the Philippines. She has also won medals at many other competitions outside Australia.
Burns studied naturopathy, but deferred her studies for a year to focus on her Olympic campaign in 2000, training under Australian national taekwondo coach Jin Tae Jeong(정진태). She trained 5–7 hours a day in preparation for Olympic competition. Burns was listed at in height and in weight, but has since indicated that is her natural weight. On 23 August 2000, less than a month before the Sydney Olympics, she was awarded the Australian Sports Medal.It's an Honour: Burns, Lauren Chantel – Australian Sports Medal Retrieved on 26 March 2010. Burns won a gold medal in taekwondo at the 2000 Summer Olympics,databaseOlympics.com: Taekwondo results for the 2000 Summer Olympics (2000). Retrieved on 6 April 2008. in a tournament marked by controversial judging at times. She defeated Taiwanese competitor Chi Shu-Ju in the quarter final, who claimed that the loud cheering of the parochial home crowd had influenced the judges, and won the Olympic final against Cuban competitor Urbia Melendez.
Her Olympic gold medal was stolen in 2003, but it was recovered within a few days. That same year, she published her autobiography, Fighting Spirit: From a charmed childhood to the Olympics and beyond.Burns, L. (2003): Fighting Spirit: From a charmed childhood to the Olympics and beyond. Camberwell, Australia: Viking. ()Jacob, R. (2005): Martial arts biographies: An annotated bibliography (p. 4). New York: iUniverse. ()
Post-competition career Burns is linked with the Victorian Institute of Sport and the South Australian Sports Institute. Apart from her taekwondo career, Burns also works as a motivational speakerBurns, L. (2003): Public speaking Retrieved on 26 March 2010. Conference Speakers Australia: Lauren Burns, professional speaker (2004). Retrieved on 26 March 2010. and promotes the "Zip Bag", which she designed.Burns, L. (2003): Products Retrieved on 26 March 2010. Love Your Planet (2007). Retrieved on 26 March 2010. She also supports the Red Dust Role Models community project and is an ambassador for charitable organisation World Vision.Burns, L. (2003): Community involvement Retrieved on 26 March 2010. Red Dust Role Models: Lauren Burns (c. 2006). Retrieved on 26 March 2010. Burns resides in Melbourne with her husband, Nathan Muller,Anonymous (2008): First baby for Olympic golden girl Lauren Burns Herald Sun (5 October 2008). Retrieved on 26 March 2010. and their children, Mac Banjo (born in early 2009) and Piper (born in 2010).
Recognition On 26 January 2001 (Australia Day), Burns was honoured with a Medal of the Order of Australia.It's an Honour: Burns, Lauren Chantel – Medal of the Order of Australia Retrieved on 26 March 2010.Moreland Youth Summit: Report and recommendations (2004, p. 18). Retrieved on 26 March 2010. In 2017, Burns was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame.
See also Daniel Trenton Sparring World Taekwondo Federation List of Olympic medalists in taekwondo
References
External links
Hall's Taekwondo