Lauren Burns

Lauren Chantel Burns, OAM (born 8 June 1974) is an Australian taekwondo practitioner and Olympic champion.[1] 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.[2] Burns holds the rank of 3rd dan black belt in taekwondo.[3] Following her competitive taekwondo career, she has been involved in a range of activities, including motivational speaking and community work.

Lauren Burns
Born (1974-06-08) 8 June 1974
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
ResidenceMelbourne, Victoria, Australia
NationalityAustralian
StyleTaekwondo
Teacher(s)Martin and Jeanette Hall, Joon No, Jin Tae Jeong
Rank3rd dan taekwondo (KUKKIWON)
SpouseNathan Muller
ChildrenMac Banjo Muller and Piper Muller
Notable school(s)Preshil, The Margret Lyttle Memorial School
Websitewww.laurenburns.com

Early life

Burns was born on 8 June 1974 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia,[4][5][6][7] the daughter of singer Ronnie Burns and dancer Maggie Burns (née Stewart).[1][8][9] As a child, she did not participate much in sports.[9] Her younger brother, Michael (then aged 7), became interested in martial arts after watching the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and started learning taekwondo.[10] Shortly thereafter, their father also began training in taekwondo; together, her father and brother encouraged her (then aged 14) to begin training as well.[10]

Burns began her taekwondo training in Hall's Taekwondo,[7] which was founded and is directed by instructors Martin and Jeanette Hall.[11] She began competing in taekwondo in 1990; she was training under Joon No's direction at the time, and her training partner was Donna Scherp.[12][13]

Competitive taekwondo career
Lauren Burns
Medal record
Representing  Australia
Women’s taekwondo
Olympic Games
2000 Sydney 49 kg
World Championships
1997 Hong KongBantamweight

A successful tournament career included 12 Australian women's national taekwondo championships,[6] a bronze medal at the World Cup in 1996,[14] a bronze medal in the under 51 kg class at the 1997 World Taekwondo Championships in Hong Kong,[15] and a gold medal at the US Open taekwondo competition in 1999.[6] 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.[14] She has also won medals at many other competitions outside Australia.[14]

Burns studied naturopathy, but deferred her studies for a year to focus on her Olympic campaign in 2000,[1] training under Australian national taekwondo coach Jin Tae Jeong.[3][9] She trained 5–7 hours a day in preparation for Olympic competition.[3] Burns was listed at 165 cm (5'5") in height and 49 kg (108 lb.) in weight,[6] but has since indicated that 54 kg (119 lb.) is her natural weight.[16] On 23 August 2000, less than a month before the Sydney Olympics, she was awarded the Australian Sports Medal.[17] Burns won a gold medal in taekwondo at the 2000 Summer Olympics,[18] in a tournament marked by controversial judging at times.[19] 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,[19] and won the Olympic final against Cuban competitor Urbia Melendez.[20]

Her Olympic gold medal was stolen in 2003,[21] but it was recovered within a few days.[22] That same year, she published her autobiography, Fighting Spirit: From a charmed childhood to the Olympics and beyond.[23][24]

Post-competition career

Burns is linked with the Victorian Institute of Sport and the South Australian Sports Institute.[6] Apart from her taekwondo career, Burns also works as a motivational speaker[25][26] and promotes the "Zip Bag", which she designed.[27][28] She also supports the Red Dust Role Models community project and is an ambassador for charitable organisation World Vision.[29][30] Burns resides in Melbourne[4] with her husband, Nathan Muller,[31] and their children, Mac Banjo (born in early 2009) and Piper (born in 2010).[30][31]

Recognition

On 26 January 2001 (Australia Day), Burns was honoured with a Medal of the Order of Australia.[6][32][33] In 2017, Burns was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame.[34]

See also

References
  1. Gordon, H. (c. 2000): Lauren Burns, Taekwondo Retrieved on 26 March 2010.
  2. Australian Olympic Committee (2003): The compendium: Official Australian Olympic statistics 1896–2003 (p. 12). Saint Lucia, Australia: University of Queensland. (ISBN 978-0-7022-3425-5)
  3. Burns, L. (2003): The Fighter Archived 17 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on 26 March 2010; link updated on 23 August 2012.
  4. Burns, L. (2003): Facts & Info Archived 19 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on 26 March 2010; link updated on 23 August 2012.
  5. databaseOlympics.com: Lauren Burns Archived 16 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine (2000). Retrieved on 26 March 2010.
  6. Taekwondo Queensland: Lauren Burns (October 2004). Retrieved on 26 March 2010. Archived 17 October 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  7. Sports Reference: Lauren Burns (c. 2009). Retrieved on 26 March 2010.
  8. ABC Sydney Olympic Games athlete profile: Lauren Burns (2000). Retrieved on 7 April 2008.
  9. 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. (ISBN 978-0-7022-3412-5)
  10. Burns, L. (2003): Frequently Asked Questions Retrieved on 26 March 2010. Archived 17 October 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  11. Hall's Taekwondo: Founding Directors active at Hall's Taekwondo (26 February 2010). Retrieved on 26 March 2010. Archived 30 October 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  12. Schiavello, M. (1994): "Addicted to Taekwondo: Lauren Burns." Australasian Taekwondo, 3(1):63–65.
  13. Brown, R. (2007): "No limits: Grandmaster Joon No." Australasian Taekwondo, 16(4):26–31.
  14. Burns, L. (2003): Achievements Archived 2 April 2012 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on 31 March 2010; link updated on 23 August 2012.
  15. Sports 123: Taekwondo – World Championships – Women: -51 kg (2007). Retrieved on 13 July 2008. Archived 10 April 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  16. Cardwell, G. (2006): Gold medal nutrition. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics. (ISBN 978-0-7360-6069-1)
  17. It's an Honour: Burns, Lauren Chantel – Australian Sports Medal Retrieved on 26 March 2010.
  18. databaseOlympics.com: Taekwondo results for the 2000 Summer Olympics Archived 23 August 2008 at the Wayback Machine (2000). Retrieved on 6 April 2008.
  19. ABC News Online: Taekwondo judges fight bias accusations (1 October 2000). Retrieved on 26 March 2010.
  20. Taekwondo at the 2000 Sydney Summer Games (c. 2000). Retrieved on 31 March 2010.
  21. Berry, J. (2003): Theft of medal leaves champion heartbroken The Age (18 December 2003). Retrieved on 16 August 2008.
  22. Webster, A. (2003): A golden 'boomerang' comes back for Lauren Burns The Age (20 December 2003). Retrieved on 26 March 2010.
  23. Burns, L. (2003): Fighting Spirit: From a charmed childhood to the Olympics and beyond. Camberwell, Australia: Viking. (ISBN 978-0-6700-4037-7)
  24. Jacob, R. (2005): Martial arts biographies: An annotated bibliography (p. 4). New York: iUniverse. (ISBN 978-0-5953-4861-9)
  25. Burns, L. (2003): Public speaking Retrieved on 26 March 2010. Archived 17 October 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  26. Conference Speakers Australia: Lauren Burns, professional speaker (2004). Retrieved on 26 March 2010.
  27. Burns, L. (2003): Products Retrieved on 26 March 2010. Archived 30 September 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  28. Love Your Planet Archived 11 June 2010 at the Wayback Machine (2007). Retrieved on 26 March 2010.
  29. Burns, L. (2003): Community involvement Retrieved on 26 March 2010. Archived 9 November 2010 at the Wayback Machine
  30. Red Dust Role Models: Lauren Burns (c. 2006). Retrieved on 26 March 2010. Archived 8 November 2010 at the Wayback Machine
  31. Anonymous (2008): First baby for Olympic golden girl Lauren Burns Herald Sun (5 October 2008). Retrieved on 26 March 2010.
  32. It's an Honour: Burns, Lauren Chantel – Medal of the Order of Australia Retrieved on 26 March 2010.
  33. Moreland Youth Summit: Report and recommendations Archived 19 March 2011 at the Wayback Machine (2004, p. 18). Retrieved on 26 March 2010.
  34. "Lauren Burns punches her ticket to Hall of Fame". Sport Australia Hall of Fame website. Retrieved 4 October 2017.
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