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The Honolulu Advertiser
Updated at 4:06 p.m., Saturday, April 5, 2008

Taekwondo: Steve, Mark, Diana Lopez qualify for Beijing

By LUKE MEREDITH
Associated Press

DES MOINES, Iowa — Competing in the Olympics together has always been a dream for siblings Steve, Mark and Diana Lopez. Mark and Diana made it a reality tonight, joining Steven on the United States taekwondo team bound for Beijing by clinching spots at the U.S Olympics Trials.

The Lopezes — coached by their oldest brother, Jean — became the first trio of American siblings to qualify for the same Olympics since 1904, when Edward, Richard and William Tritschler competed for the U.S. gymnastics team in St. Louis.

Mark, 25, earned the men's featherweight spot by beating his training partner, Chris Martinez, 3-2. Diana, 24, beat rival Nia Abdallah 1-0 with just 29 seconds left in overtime.

Steven, 29, qualified at the World Olympic Qualification Tournament last September in Manchester, England. He won gold at the Olympics 2000 and 2004 and is a four-time world champion.

In the women's flyweight division, Charlotte Craig clinched an Olympic berth with a 4-2 win over Anees Hasnain. Craig, 17, overcame an early deficit to pick up her second straight win over Hasnain, 16. Craig won bronze at the Senior World Championships in Beijing in 2007.