Largo Resident 1st Woman In U.S. To Win Gold In Taekwondo

LARGO, FL — Largo resident Anastasija Zolotic proved that you don't have to be a big, muscle-bound bruiser to pack a punch.

On Sunday, the 108-pound 18-year-old walked away with an Olympic gold medal, the first American woman to win gold in the sport of taekwondo.

Zolotic beat 18-year-old Russian Tatiana Minina 25-17 to make history.

Zolotic was already considered a rising star when she entered the Olympics for the first time after winning gold in the Pan Am games and the World Taekwondo Junior Championships along with a silver medal at the Youth Olympic Games.

Now she stands in a class all her own after beating Britain's Jade Jones, who won two Olympic gold medals, Korea's Ah-reum Lee, who won a gold and bronze in the Rio Olympics, and Turkey's Hatice Kubra Ilgum, ranked No. 2 in the world.

Minina was ranked fourth in the world when she went up against Zolotic Sunday.

Zolotic, whose family came to the United States from Yugoslavia, looks and acts the part of a typical American teen. She loves hanging out with her family and friends, boating with her dad, going to the beach, shopping, baking and spending time with her miniature pinscher, Cory.

"I also like to sing and dance even though I am very bad at both," she joked.

Her mom, Dragana, works as a nurse and her father, Dalibor, owns a granite company.

She credits her parents with her success in taekwondo.

"My parents have been the most influential in my athletic career by pushing me to be the best and showing me that anything you put your mind to can become possible," she said in an interview for Team USA.

She was just 8 years old when her parents enrolled her in a taekwondo class, and she said she instantly fell in love with the sport, quickly moving through the ranks to receive her black belt.

At age 10, she competed in her first major competition at the Costa Rica Open in 2014, bringing home a silver medal. In the years since, she's competed in the Spanish Open, the National Championships, the Pan American, the Luxembourg Open, German Open, World Taekwondo Grand Prix Final Moscow, Austrian Open, World Championships, among others, earning a collection of more than 25 gold, silver and bronze medals.

Zolotic admitted to being a bit tongue-tied after receiving her gold Olympic medal and then facing throngs of media seeking a comment from her.

“It’s unbelievable. It really hasn’t sunk in yet," she said. “I just want the country to be proud of me, to share this flood of emotions.”