All three siblings will compete this week at the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Taekwondo, held at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs. From Aug. 23-24, the nation’s top Taekwondo athletes will compete to advance to the World Olympic Qualifier in Manchester, England, from Sept. 28-30. The top three finishers at the World Olympic Qualifier would earn a nomination to the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team that will compete at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games.

Steven, the two-time Olympic gold medalist and four-time World Champion, is the heavy favorite for the combined light/welterweight division. Steven has been undefeated since 2000, and is hoping to make a third Olympic appearance next year.

“The experience I gained [from winning the gold medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games], the journey that it had taken to get there, and to actually be on the podium – listening to my national anthem, watching my flag being raised above everyone else’s – is an image that has been burned into my mind,” Steven says. “It’s something that keeps me going every single day.”

Younger siblings Mark and Diana will fight tougher battles at this week’s Olympic Team Trials.

In the most hotly-contested match-up of these Olympic Trials, Diana will be paired against 2004 Olympic silver medalist Nia Abdallah for the lone spot in the women’s bantam/feather division. Abdallah, who defeated Diana at the 2004 U.S. Olympic Team Trials and eventually gained the sole berth to the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, serves as Diana’s biggest obstacle in qualifying for Beijing.

And though all three celebrated their individual world titles in 2005, Mark was left without a medal at this year’s World Championships; a bittersweet moment considering older brother Steven won his fourth consecutive gold and younger sister Diana took home the bronze. This most recent loss has only driven him to work harder to maintain the competitive caliber that is expected of the Lopez family.

“I haven’t trained this hard or been this focused in a long time, and I think it was a blessing in disguise not even medaling at the world championships – it just made me want it even more,” Mark says. “These opponents I’m about to face better watch out, because that fire is in me and it’s going to keep on growing.”

If Steven, Mark, and Diana earn the right to represent the United States at next year’s Beijing Olympic Games, it will only have been the second time in history that three siblings have qualified for an Olympic Team in the same summer sport. In 1904, brothers Edward, Richard and William Tritschler competed in men’s gymnastics, though none won any medals.

Critics note that Steven’s successes often overshadow Mark and Diana’s accomplishments. When asked about family tension or sibling hostility, Mark is the first to put rumors to rest.

“I see Steven as somebody who’s raised the bar in this sport, and it makes me reach for a goal that’s higher than I would ever set,” Mark says. “Just having Steven in the training arena with me pushes me harder to reach his level. He’s the best. I love him, and I want to be just like him.”

However, the family dynamic is not without its competitive nature. All are coached by oldest brother Jean, 32, a silver medalist at the 1995 World Championships and 2004 Olympic Team coach, who maintains that the family bond is what drives each to his or her personal best.

“Let’s make no mistake: we are one of the most competitive families that you could ever meet,” Jean states. “It could be playing basketball, football – we like to do everything. And everything we do, we compete in. We know each other’s hot buttons, and we love to test them just to get a rise out of it. But at the end of the day, there’s never a loss of respect amongst [us].

“The thing that makes us that much stronger going into competition is because we do have the support of each other. At times when it gets difficult, or when one of us is not motivated, we have each other to push,” Steven added.

In the end, the Lopezes hope to make the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games a family affair.

“There are times when I get tired of the grind of going in and out, of training three-, four-, five-, six hours a day – but it is nothing compared to the joy that comes with being an Olympian representing the United States,” Steven says. “I want to be walking alongside [my family] at the next Opening Ceremony.”

For more information, please contact Bill Kellick of USA Taekwondo at (719) 866-3626.