Victorian Stacey Hymer fought hard in the first Olympic bout of her career but it wasn’t enough to overcome third seeded Canadian Skylar Park, going down 25 points to 15 in the first round of the 57kg division. 

The 22-year-old from Melbourne made a confident start to the bout, and looked self-assured in the early exchanges, trailing by just 6 points to 5 at the end of the first round. 

The second round began as a carbon copy of the first, with the Australian taking the ascendancy with a series of attacking moves, however a combination of consecutive blows to the trunk from the more experienced Canadian saw her come back from a 12 - 8 deficit to lead 16 points to 12 at the end of the second round. 

A clearly fatigued Hymer struggled to assert any dominance in the final round, with the Canadian claiming victory and ending the Australian’s Olympic campaign. 

Although disappointed, Hymer was philosophical about her Olympic Games debut. 

“I had a few nerves but felt good prior. I was just completely in the zone, focusing on my opponent and everything else (about the experience) was a bit of a blur,” she said. 

Hymer was clearly hampered in the final round, and conceded she struggled physically. 

“My calves gave up first, they are the first ones to burn so basically once those go it’s a bit hard to control your footwork and your movements.” 

Taekwondo competition continues on Monday, Day 3 of the Tokyo Games, with Jack Marton competing in the 80kg class. Marton, seeded 12th will take on Egypt’s Seif Eissa who is seeded 5th. 

Damian Kelly