Sarah Chaâri

Sarah Chaâri
Chaâri in 2024
Personal information
NationalityBelgian
Born (2005-05-02) 2 May 2005 (age 21)
Belgium
Home townCharleroi, Belgium
Height191 cm (6 ft 3 in)
Medal record
Women's taekwondo
Representing  Belgium
Olympic Games
Bronze medal – third place2024 Paris67 kg
World Championships
Gold medal – first place2022 Guadalajara62 kg
Gold medal – first place2025 Wuxi73 kg
Grand Prix
Gold medal – first place2023 Manchester (F)67 kg
Silver medal – second place2023 Rome67 kg
Silver medal – second place2023 Taiyuan67 kg
Silver medal – second place2025 Bangkok67 kg
Bronze medal – third place2022 Paris67 kg
European Games
Gold medal – first place2023 Kraków-Małopolska62 kg
European Championships
Gold medal – first place2024 Belgrade67 kg
Gold medal – first place2026 Munich73 kg
Bronze medal – third place2022 Manchester62 kg
World Junior Championships
Gold medal – first place2022 Sofia63 kg
European Junior Championships
Gold medal – first place2021 Sarajevo59 kg
World University Games
Silver medal – second place2025 Rhine-Ruhr73 kg
Bronze medal – third place2021 Chengdu67 kg

Sarah Chaâri (born 2 May 2005) is a Belgian taekwondo practitioner and Olympic medal winner.

Career

Chaâri came to prominence by winning the gold medal in the 2022 World Taekwondo Junior Championships in Sofia in August 2022.

Later that year she moved up to the senior division, and won also the gold medal in the women's lightweight event at the senior level 2022 World Taekwondo Championships in Guadalajara, Mexico becoming Belgium's first female World Taekwondo champion. In doing so, Chaâri also became the first-ever Taekwondo fighter to win golds at both Junior and Senior World Championships in the same year.

Chaâri earned a gold medal at the 2023 European Games in the women's 62 kg event. She also won the 2023 World Taekwondo Grand Prix women's 67 kg event final in Manchester, which qualified her to compete at the 2024 Summer Olympics.

In May 2024, Chaâri became European Champion by defeating the reigning world champion Magda Wiet-Henin of France in the final of the 67 kg category. And at the 2024 Summer Olympics later that year in Paris, France, she won the bronze medal in that same 67 kg category.

In October 2025, at the 2025 World Taekwondo Championships in Wuxi, China, she was crowned world champion at the senior level for the second time, this time in the women's middleweight category. She punctuated her victory with a huge quarter-final victory in three rounds against France's Althéa Laurin, the defending world champion in the weight category and +67 kg Olympic gold medalist in Paris.

In February 2026, Chaâri won the gold medal at the 13th Fujairah Open International Taekwondo Championships. In May, she was crowned European champion for a second time at the 2026 European Taekwondo Championships in Munich, Germany.

Personal life

Chaâri studies medicine at the Université libre de Bruxelles, having passed the medical school entrance exam in July 2022 where she ranked in the top 6% candidates. Sarah's father is Moroccan and her mother is Belgian and she is to be considered first-ever European Muslim woman to obtain a medal at Summer Olympics.

Awards

2025
2026

References

  1. ↑ Beauclercq, Guy (27 December 2022). "Sarah Chaari, championne du monde de taekwondo et étudiante en première année de médecine" [Sarah Chaari, world taekwondo champion and first year medical student]. La Libre (in French). Retrieved 30 January 2023.
  2. 1 2 "Sarah Chaari: One Year, Two World Titles". World Taekwondo. 18 August 2022. Retrieved 9 March 2024. The 17-year-old from Charleroi, Belgium, pulled off an achievement unique in Taekwondo history: In 2022 she has won both the Junior and Senior World Championship titles.
  3. 1 2 "Taekwondo: Sarah Chaari pulls off an impressive feat!". Focus on Belgium. Federal Public Service Foreign Affairs. 7 December 2023. Retrieved 9 March 2024. The Charleroi native has now won the final of the highly prestigious World Grand Prix in Manchester (UK) in the under 67 kg category
  4. 1 2 Fieremans, Bart (27 June 2023). "Taekwondoka Sarah Chaâri pakt goud voor Team Belgium op Europese Spelen en droomt van medaille in Parijs 2024" [Taekwondoka Sarah Chaâri takes gold for Team Belgium at the European Games and dreams of a medal in Paris 2024]. Het Laatste Nieuws (in Dutch). Retrieved 9 March 2024.
  5. ↑ "Sarah Chaâri". TeamBelgium.be (in Dutch). Belgian Olympic and Interfederal Committee. Retrieved 9 March 2024. Geboren 02 mei 2005 [Born 2 May 2005]
  6. ↑ "CHAARI Sarah". 2023 European Games. 25 June 2023. Retrieved 9 March 2024. Date of Birth: 2 May 2005[permanent dead link]
  7. 1 2 "Olympics: Sarah Chaâri wins bronze in women's -67kg taekwondo". belganewsagency.eu. 9 August 2024. Retrieved 11 August 2024.
  8. ↑ "Iran, Korea and Belgium among the gold medals on day 5 of Sofia 2022 World Taekwondo Junior Championships". World Taekwondo. 6 August 2022. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
  9. ↑ "Day 2 in Guadalajara Proves Golden for Belgium, Serbia and Mexico". World Taekwondo. 16 November 2022. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
  10. ↑ Berkeley, Geoff (16 November 2022). "Soltero wins world title on home soil as Chaari and Khodabakhshi triumph". InsideTheGames.biz. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
  11. ↑ "SARAH CHAARI WORLD CHAMPION". Belgian Taekwondo Federation. 17 November 2022. Retrieved 17 November 2022.
  12. ↑ "Belgische tiener Sarah Chaari verovert goud op WK taekwondo" [Belgian teenager Sarah Chaari conquers gold at the Taekwondo World Championships]. Sporza.be (in Dutch). 16 November 2022. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
  13. ↑ "Paris 2024 Olympians shine at European Taekwondo Championships". Focus on Belgium. www.insidethegames.biz. 13 May 2024. Retrieved 22 May 2024. Belgium's 19-year-old rising star Sarah Chaari stunned reigning world champion Magda Wiet-Henin of France in the final of the 67 kg category.
  14. ↑ "Korea, Belgium and Egypt triumph on exciting day three at Wuxi 2025 World Taekwondo Championships". World Taekwondo. 26 October 2025. Retrieved 26 October 2025. Belgium's 19-year-old rising star Sarah Chaari stunned reigning world champion Magda Wiet-Henin of France in the final of the 67 kg category.
  15. ↑ "Larin, Chaari, and Nickolas claim UAE gold". Inside the Games. 9 February 2026. Retrieved 14 May 2026. Sarah Chaari of Belgium, the double and reigning World champion and Paris 2024 bronze medallist, lived up to her top billing with a flawless run to gold.
  16. ↑ "Favorietenrol helemaal waargemaakt: Sarah Chaari pakt haar tweede Europese titel taekwondo na spannende finale" [Fully lived up to her role as favorite: Sarah Chaari claims her second European taekwondo title after a thrilling final]. Sporza.be (in Dutch). 13 May 2026. Retrieved 14 May 2026.
  17. ↑ "Les JO et une deuxième année de médecine en première sess': l'équation (presque) impossible de Sarah Chaâri" (in French). www.lesoir.be. 9 May 2024. Retrieved 12 May 2024.
  18. ↑ "Sarah Chaâri, médaillée de bronze aux JO et... étudiante en médecine:…". 12 September 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  19. ↑ "MEET 2023 SUMMER PIOTR NUROWSKI PRIZE FINALIST SARAH CHAÂRI". www.eurolympic.org. 28 September 2023. Retrieved 12 May 2024.
  20. ↑ "Roya News First Olympic medal for Jordan in Paris: Zaid Mustafa hea…". 14 August 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  21. ↑ "World Taekwondo 2025 Gala Awards honours world's best in Fujairah as global Taekwondo family gathers at Al Bahar Hotel". MASTKD. 3 February 2026. Retrieved 14 May 2026. Belgium's Sarah Chaâri was crowned Female Athlete of the Year after another standout year on the international stage.
  22. ↑ "Taekwondoka Sarah Chaari krijgt Nationale Trofee voor Sportverdienste" [Taekwondoka Sarah Chaari receives National Sports Merit Award]. Sporza (in Dutch). 15 October 2026. Retrieved 15 October 2026.