This bronze medal was awarded to the third-place finishers at the 1988 New Jersey State Taekwondo Championships.
Its historical significance lies in the fact that all medalists—first, second, and third place—from each state qualified to advance to the national championships, the final pathway toward earning a berth on the 1988 United States Olympic Taekwondo Team.
For its recipient, Gerard Robbins, this medal held exceptional meaning, as it marked him as the only competitor from the pioneering Taekwondo era of the 1970s to successfully qualify for Olympic team contention in 1988.
At the national championships in Miami, Florida, Robbins was narrowly defeated in a highly competitive match by Jimmy Kim, who advanced from that contest to secure his place on the 1988 U.S. Olympic Taekwondo Team and ultimately went on to win the Olympic gold medal in the heavyweight division.