Taekwondo weight classes: the World and Olympic categories, and the 5 percent check that caps the refill

Taekwondo runs two sets of categories, sixteen at World Championships and eight at the Olympic Games, and one rule that makes it the closest sport to judo in how weight is managed: an official weigh-in the day before, and a random check on the day of competition with a ceiling of 5 percent above the category. The classes are below in kilograms and pounds, and the 5 percent is worked out for each of them, because that number decides the refill.

The World Championship categories

These are the categories used at World Championships, continental championships, Grand Prix events and most national championships. The ceiling column is what an athlete may weigh at the random check on competition day; the room column is how much may go back on after the official scale before that ceiling is reached, with fluid, food and glycogen all counted inside it.

Men

Women

The heavyweight categories have no upper limit and no ceiling to check. Everyone else has a number, and at the lighter end it is a small one: a 46 kg athlete has 2.30 kg for everything she takes on between the scale and the mat.

The Olympic categories

The Olympic entry is capped at 128 athletes, so World Taekwondo compresses the sixteen categories into eight for the Games. Each Olympic class covers two World Championship classes, and an athlete who competes at 63 kg all year is a 68 at the Olympics, or has to reach 58.

Men

Women

The random check and its 5 percent apply at the Games in the same way. For the 58 kg Olympic class the ceiling is 60.90 kg; for 68 it is 71.40; for 80 it is 84.00. For women, 51.45 at 49 kg, 59.85 at 57, and 70.35 at 67.

How the weigh-in works

The World Taekwondo Competition Rules and Interpretation in force from 1 June 2026 run it in two stages. The official weigh-in is the day before competition, in underwear, once, and an athlete who is over gets one more attempt within the weigh-in window. Scales identical to the official one are provided at the accommodation or venue for a pre-weigh-in, so nobody should be surprised at the official scale. Cadets and juniors weigh in with underwear and get a 100 gram allowance for it.

Then, on the day of competition, a random weigh-in is run before the start. Under the World Taekwondo rules the selection rate is set by the number of contestants in the category; USA Taekwondo's 2026 rules describe it as typically 5 percent of that day's competitors, announced in the event information. The random check is done once. There is no second attempt. Over 5 percent above the category, or absent from the check, and the athlete is disqualified. Underweight is never a problem at the random check.

That is the same design as judo's, and the judo page on this site explains what the 5 percent rule does to a weight cut in detail. The short version: the official weigh-in caps how light you must get, the random check caps how much you may put back, and because you cannot know whether you will be selected, you plan as though you will be.

What the 5 percent means for an adult athlete

Everything taken on after the official scale sits inside the room in the tables above. The fluid, the carbohydrate, and the water that carbohydrate is stored with, which is about three grams for every gram of glycogen. A 57 kg athlete has 2.85 kg for all of it. Refilling properly is itself part of the weight that comes back, which is not a reason to refill less; it is a reason to know the number before the scale, and to have chosen a category where that number is comfortable rather than exact.

The order of the refill does not change from any other sport with a night between the scale and the start: an oral rehydration solution first, small volumes repeated, carbohydrate across the evening, a familiar meal after the first half hour, and a weigh check before bed and on waking. It is set out in rehydration after the weigh-in. The morning number against the ceiling in the table decides whether breakfast is normal or careful.

Choosing the category follows the judo logic exactly. Can you make it without a hard cut, can you refill and still be under the ceiling in the morning, and can you hold something close to it across a season with several events. A category you can reach but cannot recover from is the wrong category. The between-event band that works in combat sport applies here too.

Cadets, juniors and anyone under 18

Taekwondo has one of the largest junior populations in combat sport, and World Taekwondo runs separate cadet and junior category sets with more classes and lower limits. Take those from the current competition rules, because they change between editions and most lists online are out of date.

Nothing on this page about refilling or choosing a category is written for an athlete who has not finished growing. A cadet or junior who does not fit a category enters the one above. That is the whole of the recommendation, and any conversation beyond it belongs with a physician rather than a coach. The reasons are in weight cutting under 18.

Anti-doping

World Taekwondo and the national federations operate under the World Anti-Doping Code: the WADA Prohibited List, testing in and out of competition, and whereabouts obligations for athletes in testing pools. Two things follow, as they do in judo. Diuretics and masking agents are prohibited at all times, and a sport with a percentage ceiling on regain is a sport where the temptation is structural. And supplement contamination does not check which federation you compete in; anything in the bag gets checked against a batch-testing registry first.

How the weigh-in formats of the Olympic combat sports compare, with judo's 5 percent, wrestling's 2 kilograms and boxing's daily scale side by side, is in judo, wrestling and amateur boxing weigh-in rules, and the full reference table across every combat sport is on the weigh-in rules page.

Common questions

How many weight classes are there in taekwondo?

Sixteen at World Championship level, eight for men and eight for women, from 54 kg to over 87 kg for men and from 46 kg to over 73 kg for women. The Olympic Games use eight, four per sex, because the entry is capped at 128 athletes.

What are the Olympic taekwondo weight classes?

Men: 58, 68, 80 and over 80 kg. Women: 49, 57, 67 and over 67 kg. Each Olympic class covers two of the World Championship classes, which is why an athlete who is a 63 at Worlds fights at 68 at the Games.

When is the taekwondo weigh-in?

The official weigh-in is held the day before the competition. Under World Taekwondo rules it is done once, and an athlete who fails it gets one more attempt inside the weigh-in window. Then, on the competition day itself, a random weigh-in is run before the start, and that one is done once with no second attempt.

What is the 5 percent rule in taekwondo?

Athletes selected for the random weigh-in on competition day may be no more than 5 percent over the upper limit of their category. Over that, or absent from the check, and the athlete is disqualified. For a 58 kg athlete the ceiling is 60.90 kg; for a 49 kg athlete it is 51.45 kg. Being under the category limit at the random check is never a problem.

How many athletes get the random weigh-in?

It varies by event. World Taekwondo rules set the selection rate by the number of contestants in each category, and USA Taekwondo's 2026 rules say the rate is typically 5 percent of the day's competitors, announced in the event information. You cannot know in advance whether you will be selected, which is the point of the rule.

Do cadets and juniors have different categories?

Yes. World Taekwondo publishes separate cadet and junior category sets with more classes and lower limits, and the rules give cadets and juniors a 100 gram allowance for underwear at the weigh-in. The category sets change between rule editions; take them from the current competition rules rather than from any list on the web.

Can you move up a weight class in taekwondo?

Up, at the entry stage, yes. An athlete who does not fit a category enters the one above. Down is bounded by the official weigh-in: you compete in the category your weigh-in weight puts you in, and no lower.

Is taekwondo drug tested?

At national and international level, yes. World Taekwondo and the national federations operate under the World Anti-Doping Code, with the WADA Prohibited List, in and out-of-competition testing and whereabouts obligations for athletes in testing pools. Diuretics are prohibited at all times, and a sport with a percentage ceiling on regain is a sport where the temptation is structural.