İrem Yaman

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İrem Yaman (born 4 August 1995) is a Turkish taekwondo athlete who retired in 2021. She competed mainly in the lightweight division (62 kg) and is a two-time world champion. She also has a background in amateur kickboxing.

Early life and education
Yaman started practicing taekwondo at age eight. She studied Physical Education and Sports at Hacettepe University in Ankara and was a member of the university taekwondo team. After earning her bachelor’s degree, she pursued a master’s degree at Selçuk University in Konya. She married Turkish volleyball player Mert Matić on 2 September 2024.

Kickboxing background
As a junior, she won bronze at the 2012 WAKO World Kickboxing Championships in Bratislava (+70 kg) and silver at the 2013 WAKO European Kickboxing Championships in Krynica-Zdrój.

Taekwondo career
Yaman won gold at the European Under-21 Championship in Innsbruck in 2014 (67 kg) and collected several international victories in 2015 (Turkish Open Antalya, Luxor Open, Ukraine Open, Moldova Open). She became a world champion in taekwondo at 62 kg in Chelyabinsk in 2015, making her the first Turkish woman to win a world title in taekwondo. She added a second world title in 2019 at 62 kg in Manchester, defeating Caroline Santos 21–7 in the final and becoming the first Turkish woman to win the world championship twice. In 2018 she ranked No. 1 in the World Taekwondo rankings for the 62 kg category with 253.81 points.

Olympics and retirement
For the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Turkey had two top contenders in the 57 kg class, but only one Olympic quota was available per country. The Turkish federation selected Hatice Kübra İlgün for 57 kg based on Grand Prix results. Yaman, who had more points in the 62 kg category (the non-Olympic weight), did not receive an Olympic spot and publicly criticized the decision. She announced her retirement from taekwondo on 18 December 2021.