CHARLOTTE, USA (June 15, 2025) - For American Taekwondo fighter CJ Nikolas, his gold medal performance at the Charlotte 2025 World Taekwondo Grand Prix was more than just a win – it marked the beginning of a new chapter.
Coming off his Olympic appearance at Paris 2024 where he narrowly missed out on bronze, Nikolas knew something had to shift. “I’ve been working super hard, you know, coming off of the Olympics,” he said. “This is the first major event since the Games. I’ve done a lot of work on myself as a person, and it’s just translating into the ring.”
That personal growth was evident in Charlotte, where he dominated in style, not losing a single round on his way to gold. “For a while, I lacked the confidence that I could actually win in a fashion like that, that I could actually dominate,” he admitted. “And now I know who I am, and I know what I’m capable of. I know what I deserve.”
This renewed confidence wasn’t just about self-belief—it was about a deliberate mental reset. “For this specific event, I went into it with a fresh mind. Every game is new,” Nikolas explained. “When it came down to it, I just genuinely had to believe that I was better, and that there wasn’t going to be anything standing in my way of finishing the job.”
His evolution as a fighter has also involved reconciling the sport’s shifting dynamics and his desire for attacking Taekwondo. “When I started Taekwondo, everyone around me was old school,” he said. “But around 11, 12, 13, [years old] I started seeing the new Taekwondo and had to assimilate. But it just got to a point where I wasn’t having fun fighting. I felt like I was becoming a robot to the culture,” he reflected. “I had to fight like how I wanted to fight, with my X factors.”
That attacking style which gets fans out of their seats is now balanced with tactical maturity. “Sometimes it takes a very simplified, modern game,” he said. “So mastering both the modern game and old school Taekwondo kind of led me to victory yesterday.”
Still, it hasn’t always been a smooth climb. Nikolas openly shared his mental hurdles, particularly his struggles to reach the next level. In the Grand Prix Series he has reached four semifinals but not got the final. “I got stuck in that bronze medal gulag for a while. That was part of the growth. I’ve done a lot of work to ground myself and take myself back to the moment.”
“It’s 1% margins that are going to separate me from everybody else.” And with Los Angeles 2028 on the horizon, Nikolas is already planning his ascent. “You don’t really get a home Games. That’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and I have the opportunity to go again,” he said with determination. “I’m not going to leave anything up to chance.”
“In that finals yesterday, I didn’t feel like I could stand strong for the third round, so I had to go all in for the second. That’s unacceptable to me. I think I can go further.”
Nikolas is aiming for more than just victory—he’s chasing dominance. “By the time I get to LA, I want to be striking fear in people’s minds. Not because I’m at home, not because I’m CJ, but because they know they’re going to have the fight of their life.”
