PARIS, France — The day has arrived for CJ Nickolas to make his Olympic debut for the United States.
Nickolas faces Farzad Mansouri in a round of 16 bout in the men’s taekwondo -80kg competition on Friday. The match starts at 4:59 a.m. ET.
Nickolas trains in Charlotte with the Team USA taekwondo team. He was the No. 2 ranked fighter in the world in his weight class. The ranking qualified him for the Paris Olympics.
Nickolas is looking to add to his growing medal collection in Paris. The Brentwood, California native has won gold medals in the Pan American Championships and bronze medals in the World Taekwondo Grand Prix.
Mansouri competes for the Refugee Olympic Team, which represents 10 athletes at the Paris Olympics. The group won its first-ever medal with a boxing bronze from Cindy Ngamba, who is from Cameroon. Mansouri is from Afghanistan and competed for the nation at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics but later fled the country.
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