
For striking gold in taekwondo
Panipak Wongpattanakit
TAEKWONDO ATHLETE
Location: Thailand
TAEKWONDO ATHLETE
Location: Thailand
Of the many medals that Panipak Wongpattanakit has won, there’s one that remains elusive: an Olympic gold. Competing in the 2016 Rio Olympics, the flyweight brought home bronze, and most recently won gold at the 2019 Southeast Asian Games in December, when she was also named best female amateur athlete of the year by the Sports Authority of Thailand. She’s currently the world’s top-ranking athlete in the women’s 49kg division.