The margins couldn't have been closer as Ireland's taekwondo pioneer experiences as a 'weird but lovely' day in Paris
Jack Woolley left the Grand Palais without an Olympic medal around his neck but with his head held high.
It was a very close encounter. Yunta took the first round 10-9, with the referee's appeal that the Spaniard's foot went out of the ring before the clock went to 0.0 was not upheld. It was the right call, and it was crucial. That dream was fulfilled and, after spending a rejuvenating hour with friends and supporters, he was "buzzing" to get back in as Magomedov's advance to the final opened the door for him to contest the repechage.
"I think it's going be my time next time - but hopefully that's not until LA and in the final. But, I'm really excited with that match. I could hear by the crowd that it was entertaining, throwing legs a bit as usual, that's me. And yeah, I just really buzzed off that much better than any performance that the Irish public have seen.
It has been a tough Olympic cycle for him but he knows that while he was fuming inside after the quarter-final fight, won comfortably by the Azeri, his reaction shows how far he has come.
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