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| Born | September 23, 1981 | ||||||||||||
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Peter López Santos (born September 23, 1981) is a Peruvian taekwondo fighter. He is most recognized for being a top international featherweight athlete for the Peruvian Taekwondo Team at present.
López was born in Irvine, California, in the United States, but aged five his family returned to live in Surquillo (Lima, Peru) for a few years.
It was in Peru that López started his first taekwondo class with his dad, who would later become his coach during the early years of his career as an athlete.
Eventually the family López returned to the U.S, where he began to compete very successfully, winning: 1998 Youth World Champion, Champion in the older category in 2001, bronze medal of the World Cup 2002, silver medal at the 2002 Pan American Championships and bronze medal at the 2003 World Championship, among others.
In 2004, the Peruvian Taekwondo Federation invited López to lead a training course. It was at this time that he decided to represent Peru. Despite this, the club Elite, Texas, continues to support him. "It's like my family," he once said.
According to the Peruvian Olympic Committee, of the 15 athletes who participated in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, López is the one that has the greatest chance of winning a medal in the 'feather' category (up to 68 kilos).