Former Flames taekwondo national champion Healy to represent Team USA at Olympics in Paris

After narrowly missing qualifying for the 2021 Summer Games in Japan, former Liberty University taekwondo student-athlete Jonathan Healy ('17) will be one of eight members of Team USA (four male and four female) represented at the Aug. 7-10 Summer Olympic Games at the Grand Palais in Paris.

Healy advanced to the finals of the 2024 Pan American Olympic Qualifier held in the Dominican Republic from April 9-10, winning his matches against competitors from Honduras and Venezuela decisively to earn his Olympic bid along with another competitor from Cuba, who he did not have to fight in the final.

"It is very exciting," said Healy, who earned a B.S. in Business through Liberty's Online Programs after winning two National Collegiate Association of Taekwondo (NCAT) gold medals his junior and senior seasons with the Flames. "It's been my goal since I was young. Being able to make it much closer to my dream is a huge honor and just awesome."

Healy was named NCTA Freshman Athlete of the Year after capturing his first gold medal in the heavyweight black belt division in 2015, before adding another title in 2017 and representing Liberty at the World University Games in both Korea and Taiwan.

"The Pan Am Games prepared me pretty well for the Olympics," said Healy, 27, who is ranked No. 11 in the world in the men's heavyweight division. "I am one of the older, more experienced members of Team USA's taekwondo team, which has eight male and eight female athletes. There will be a total of 16 fighters in my division (in Paris) and I will be fighting some of the same people I have fought before, but the pressure and stress will be more than it's been at previous events."

He has been a world traveler since joining Team USA four years ago, competing most recently at the Pan Am Championships in Brazil after previously competing in Paris.

At 6 feet, 6 inches tall, 235 pounds, Healy is also one of the largest competitors to qualify for the Olympics, and he believes that will give him an edge in his heavyweight (over 80 kilogram) division.

"It definitely helps me to force (opponents) around the ring a little bit and use my weight against them," said Healy, who is from Spring, Texas, but has relocated to Charlotte, N.C., to train with the team at the USA Taekwondo national headquarters.

A typical day of training for Healy and his teammates under Head Coach Gareth Brown and Assistant Coach Stephen Lambdin, a 2016 Olympic competitor, involves two two-and-a-half-hour sessions of sparring, technique work, and cardiovascular exercise.

"Basically, every day for the past four years has been earning ranking points and doing everything I can to get to where I am right now," said Healy, who picked up the sport when he was 7. "It's definitely a huge honor."

He said his experiences with Liberty were invaluable in molding him into the man he is today.

"Being able to talk to people of faith and have that connection was really helpful," Healy said. "Coach (Jesse) Wilson was my head coach at Liberty the whole time I was there, and I have had (former teammates) reach out to me since making it, so it is nice to have that support."

By Ted Allen/Staff Writer

Former Flames taekwondo national champion Healy to represent Team USA at Olympics in Paris

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