Five gold medals placed Türkiye at the top of the taekwondo competition in Taranto. Tunisia, Morocco and France claimed the other three titles during two intense days of competition featuring leading athletes from Europe and Africa.
TARANTO, Italy.— Taekwondo concluded its programme at the XX Mediterranean Games Taranto 2026 with an outstanding performance from Türkiye, which won five of the eight titles on offer and once again confirmed the strength of its programme on the international stage.
The competitions took place on 22 and 23 August, with all eight Olympic weight divisions contested: -49 kg, -57 kg, -67 kg and +67 kg for women, and -58 kg, -68 kg, -80 kg and +80 kg for men.
Türkiye’s dominance was particularly impressive in the women’s competition, where its athletes captured all four available gold medals. Elif Sude Akgül (-49 kg), Hatice Kübra İlgün (-57 kg), Işıl Zafer (-67 kg) and Sude Yaren Uzunçavdar (+67 kg) all reached the top of the podium, while Enes Kaplan added Türkiye’s fifth title by winning the men’s -58 kg division.
Türkiye therefore finished its taekwondo campaign with five gold medals and one bronze, establishing itself as the most successful nation in the discipline at Taranto 2026.
Türkiye established its dominance from the opening day
The first day of competition immediately provided a clear indication of what was to come.
In the women’s -49 kg division, Elif Sude Akgül claimed the title, while Croatia’s Sofija Hinić secured silver. The bronze medals went to Naiara Liñán Pardo, representing Andorra, and France’s Sayine Krim.
In -57 kg, the experience of Hatice Kübra İlgün proved decisive once again. The Turkish athlete won gold, with Morocco’s Amina Dehhaoui taking silver. Chaima Toumi, of Tunisia, and Ada Avdagić, of Bosnia and Herzegovina, completed the podium with bronze medals.
Enes Kaplan delivers in the men’s competition
Türkiye also found success in the men’s competition on the opening day.
In -58 kg, Enes Kaplan became Mediterranean Games champion, leaving Croatia’s Josip Teskera with the silver medal. Algeria’s Nadir Harbi and Spain’s Jesús Fraile Rodríguez claimed the two bronze medals.
The -68 kg title, however, went to France. Souleyman Alaphilippe secured gold, while Tunisia’s Mohamed Khalil Jendoubi, one of the most established names of his generation, finished with silver. The bronze medals went to Marko Golubić, of Croatia, and Žarko Krajišnik, of Serbia.
Türkiye completes a clean sweep in the women’s divisions
The second day of competition confirmed Türkiye’s complete dominance in the women’s event.
In -67 kg, Işıl Zafer won gold in a division featuring several athletes with considerable international experience. Tunisia’s Wafa Masghouni took silver, while Styliani Marentaki, of Greece, and Nada Laaraj, of Morocco, earned bronze.
The same pattern continued in +67 kg.
Sude Yaren Uzunçavdar added another title for Türkiye, while Serbia’s Anđela Šević reached the final and collected silver. The bronze medals went to Greece’s Agoritsa-Artemia Kitsiou and Spain’s Ane Vallo Zurdo.
Türkiye therefore achieved a particularly significant result by winning all four women’s weight divisions contested in Taranto.
Firas Katoussi shows his class in -80 kg
One of the leading names in the men’s competition was Tunisia’s Firas Katoussi. The Paris 2024 Olympic champion won the -80 kg title, securing Tunisia’s only taekwondo gold medal of the Games. Katoussi defeated Morocco’s Haitam Zarhouti in the final.
Earlier in the competition, he had overcome Lebanon’s Yusuf Faraj, Spain’s Mikel Fernández García and Serbia’s Stefan Takov. Takov shared third place with Croatia’s Leon Hrgota.
For Tunisia, the taekwondo competition produced one gold, two silver medals and one bronze, with Katoussi as champion, silver medals for Mohamed Khalil Jendoubi (-68 kg) and Wafa Masghouni (-67 kg), and bronze for Chaima Toumi (-57 kg).
Morocco closes with gold in the heavyweight division
The final men’s category produced a victory for Soufiane Elasbi.
The Moroccan athlete won the +80 kg title, completing a highly productive taekwondo competition for his national team. Croatia’s Ivan Šapina secured silver, while Hüseyin Berat Demircioğlu, of Türkiye, and Spain’s Iván García Martínez claimed bronze.
With that result, Morocco completed its campaign with several podium finishes and Elasbi standing at the top of the podium in the heavyweight division.
COMPLETE TAEKWONDO RESULTS – TARANTO 2026
WOMEN
-49 kg
🥇 Elif Sude Akgül 🇹🇷 TUR
🥈 Sofija Hinić 🇭🇷 CRO
🥉 Naiara Liñán Pardo 🇦🇩 AND
🥉 Sayine Krim 🇫🇷 FRA
-57 kg
🥇 Hatice Kübra İlgün 🇹🇷 TUR
🥈 Amina Dehhaoui 🇲🇦 MAR
🥉 Chaima Toumi 🇹🇳 TUN
🥉 Ada Avdagić 🇧🇦 BIH
-67 kg
🥇 Işıl Zafer 🇹🇷 TUR
🥈 Wafa Masghouni 🇹🇳 TUN
🥉 Styliani Marentaki 🇬🇷 GRE
🥉 Nada Laaraj 🇲🇦 MAR
+67 kg
🥇 Sude Yaren Uzunçavdar 🇹🇷 TUR
🥈 Anđela Šević 🇷🇸 SRB
🥉 Agoritsa-Artemia Kitsiou 🇬🇷 GRE
🥉 Ane Vallo Zurdo 🇪🇸 ESP
MEN
-58 kg
🥇 Enes Kaplan 🇹🇷 TUR
🥈 Josip Teskera 🇭🇷 CRO
🥉 Nadir Harbi 🇩🇿 ALG
🥉 Jesús Fraile Rodríguez 🇪🇸 ESP
-68 kg
🥇 Souleyman Alaphilippe 🇫🇷 FRA
🥈 Mohamed Khalil Jendoubi 🇹🇳 TUN
🥉 Marko Golubić 🇭🇷 CRO
🥉 Žarko Krajišnik 🇷🇸 SRB
-80 kg
🥇 Firas Katoussi 🇹🇳 TUN
🥈 Haitam Zarhouti 🇲🇦 MAR
🥉 Stefan Takov 🇷🇸 SRB
🥉 Leon Hrgota 🇭🇷 CRO
+80 kg
🥇 Soufiane Elasbi 🇲🇦 MAR
🥈 Ivan Šapina 🇭🇷 CRO
🥉 Hüseyin Berat Demircioğlu 🇹🇷 TUR
🥉 Iván García Martínez 🇪🇸 ESP
Türkiye emerges as the leading nation in Taranto
With Los Angeles 2028 becoming increasingly important in international planning, performances from athletes such as Firas Katoussi, Hatice Kübra İlgün and Mohamed Khalil Jendoubi, together with the continued emergence of younger competitors, made the taekwondo competition at the Mediterranean Games another important reference point in the 2026 season.
