Carolena Carstens

Who is Carolena Carstens?

Carolena Jean Carstens Salceda is a taekwondo practitioner representing Panama. She has dual US / Panamanian citizenship through her father and mother respectively, and currently lives in Glen Ellyn, Illinois.

In 2011, Carstens participated at the Pan American Championships, where she won the silver medal in the youth -52 kg category, losing to the American Deireanne Morales in the final. She subsequently took part in qualification for the 2012 Summer Olympics in November 2011, finishing fourth. She later received one of four wild card entries for the Olympics as the 13th ranked athlete in the -49 kg category, becoming the first Olympic taekwondo athlete from Panama, and the second youngest Olympian in the country's history. She was the youngest taekwondo athlete at the 2012 Olympics. She lost her first contest 7–2 to an eventual finalist, Spaniard Brigitte Yagüe, and then lost her repechage fight to Mexican Jannet Alegría by the same score.