Mah Teninba Fofana (born 26 January 2007) is a French taekwondo practitioner of Malian descent. Competing in the women's 49 kg division, Fofana represents the France national team and Strasbourg Taekwondo Académie.[1][2] She won the bronze medal in the women's 49 kg event at the 2026 European Taekwondo Championships.[3][4]

Mah Teninba Fofana
Personal information
Born (2007-01-26) 26 January 2007 (age 19)
Strasbourg, France
Sport
CountryFrance
SportTaekwondo
Event
49 kg
ClubStrasbourg Taekwondo Académie
Medal record
Representing  France
European Championships
Bronze medal – third place2026 Munich49 kg
European U21 Championships
Bronze medal – third place2024 Sarajevo49 kg
Multi European Games
Bronze medal – third place2023 Sarajevo49 kg

Career

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Fofana grew up in Strasbourg and became one of the promising French taekwondo practitioners from the youth age categories onward. In 2019, at the age of 12, she won the gold medal in the minnows' 37 kg event at the Strasbourg International Open.[5]

In 2021, she won the gold medal in the cadets' 51 kg event at the French Open in Paris. In 2022, she won the juniors' 49 kg event at the Belgian Open in Lommel, finished second at the Dutch Open in Eindhoven and third at the French Open in Paris.[6]

In 2023, Fofana won the gold medal in the juniors' 49 kg event at the Belgian Open held in Lommel, Belgium. The same year, she won the bronze medal in the 49 kg event at the Multi European Games in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. She also won the juniors' 49 kg event at the Luxembourg Open.[6]

In 2024, she won the gold medal in the juniors' 49 kg event at the Bulgaria Open in Sofia. During the same season, she also won the juniors' 49 kg events at the Spanish Open, Luxembourg Open and Riga Open.[6] At the 2024 European Taekwondo Championships in Belgrade, Serbia, she competed in the women's 49 kg event. She defeated Ukraine's Erika Bryhida 2–0 in the opening round, before losing 2–1 to Serbia's Milica Milić in the round of 16.[6]

At the 2024 World Junior Taekwondo Championships in Chuncheon, South Korea, Fofana finished fifth in the 49 kg event. She defeated Italy's Lucrezia Maloberti 2–1 in the first round and Iran's Rozan Heidari 2–0 in the round of 16, before losing to Greece's Lamprini Anna Asimaki in the quarter-finals and finishing outside the medal matches.[6] At the 2024 European U21 Taekwondo Championships in Sarajevo, she won the bronze medal in the 49 kg event. She defeated Greece's Konstantina Eleni Bourogianni, Viktoriya Eremina and Turkey's Elif Ilgın Öztabak by 2–0 scores to reach the semi-finals, where she lost 2–0 to Elif Sude Akgül and finished third.[6]

In 2025, Fofana won the gold medal in the senior 49 kg event at the Luxembourg Open. At the 2025 World Taekwondo Championships in Wuxi, China, she competed in the same weight class; she defeated Iran's Mahla Momenzadeh 2–0 in her opening match, before losing 2–0 to South Korea's Kim Hyang-gi in the round of 16.[6] At the 2025 World Women's Open Championships in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, she competed in the 53 kg event and lost to Great Britain's Jodie McKew in the round of 16. The same year, she competed in the 49 kg event at the World U21 Taekwondo Championships in Nairobi, Kenya, where she defeated Sofia Querubin and Zeynep Duru Kököç to reach the quarter-finals, before losing 2–1 to Morocco's Nezha Elaasal.[6]

In 2026, Fofana won the bronze medal in the women's 49 kg event at the 2026 European Taekwondo Championships held in Munich, Germany. She defeated Finland's Jenna Rämö in the round of 16 and Oleksandra Danshyna 2–0 in the quarter-finals. In the semi-finals, she lost 2–1 to Serbia's Andrea Bokan and won her first senior European Championships medal.[4][7]

References

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  1. "Mah-Teninba Fofana, taekwondoïste française de l'équipe de France" (in French). Équipe de France. Retrieved 26 May 2026.
  2. "Mah Fofana, puissance quatre ?" (in French). Fédération Française de Taekwondo et Disciplines Associées. 25 January 2025. Retrieved 26 May 2026.
  3. "European Championships Seniors 2026 – Medalist by Weight Category Day 4" (PDF). European Taekwondo / Martial.Events. 14 May 2026. Retrieved 26 May 2026.
  4. 1 2 "Mah Teninba Fofana remporte le bronze des Championnats d'Europe, sa première médaille en seniors" (in French). L'Équipe. 14 May 2026. Retrieved 26 May 2026.
  5. "Taekwondo - Open international de Strasbourg : zoom sur Mah Teninba Fofana. Demain lui appartient" (in French). Les Dernières Nouvelles d'Alsace. 29 April 2019. Retrieved 26 May 2026.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "FOFANA, Mah Teninba". TaekwondoData. Retrieved 26 May 2026.
  7. "European Championships Seniors 2026 – Results Competition Draw Sheet Day 4" (PDF). European Taekwondo / Martial.Events. 14 May 2026. Retrieved 26 May 2026.
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