On 27 September, 2000, Lauren Burns created history by becoming Australia’s very first Olympic Taekwondo Champion. In front of a deafening home crowd at the State Sports Centre, she defeated Cuba’s Urbia Meléndez Rodriguez for gold, 4-2.
Lauren Burns: Australia's first Olympic Taekwondo Champion
![Lauren Burns of Australia celebrates gold in the Womens 49kg Taekwondo contest at the State Sports Centre on Day Twelve of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia. \ Mandatory Credit: Tony Feder /Allsport](/_next/image/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcontent.olympics.com.au%2Fpublic%2Fstyles%2Flandscape_header_section%2Fs3%2F2020-09%2FGettyImages-1059298.jpg.webp%3Fitok%3Dl9QkEg8p&w=1200&q=90)