It was definitely the first place in the 'surprise' era, but in just two hours, he lost the lead

Jul 29, 2024

South Korea's Lim Ji-hyun, Jeon Hoon-young, Lim Ji-hyun, and Nam Soo-hyun, who won the gold medal in the women's recurve team event at the '2024 Paris Olympics' held in Anvalid, Paris, France on the 28th (Korea time), are celebrating on the podium. Paris (France) = Reporter Chung Jae-geun cjg@sportschosun.com /2024.7.28/

Oh Sang-wook, who won the individual gold medal in the fencing men's sabre '2024 Paris Olympics" at Grand Palais in Paris on the 28th (Korea time), poses with Tunisian Perjani (left) and Italian Samelle, the silver medal. Paris (France) = Reporter Chung Jae-geun cjg@sportschosun.com /2024.7.28/

South Korea beat expectations and ranked 'Surprise #1' But the joy was also brief. Japan immediately reversed itself. As of 8 a.m. on the 29th, South Korea was ranked fifth with three gold medals, two silver medals and one bronze medal. Japan ranked first with four gold medals, two silver medals and one bronze medal. Until 2 a.m. on the 29th, Korea was ranked first, but Japan was ranked first at 4 p.m.

On the 28th (Korean time), the Republic of Korea started the gold medal with the gold medal of Oh Sang-wook (Daejeon Metropolitan City Hall). Oh won the individual fencing finals in the men's sabre event at Grand Palais in Paris, France, where he defeated Pares Parzani (Tunisia). He caught two rabbits achieving a solo exhibition 'Grand Slam'.

He took over the gold medal in shooting. Oh Ye-jin (IBK Industrial Bank) won the gold medal in the women's 10-meter air pistol final at the Chatoru Shooting Center in France. Oh Ye-jin set a new Olympic final record with the final score of 243.2 points, becoming the winner of the gold medal. It is the first time in eight years that a South Korean athlete has set a new Olympic final record since Jin Jong-oh, a 50-meter pistol finalist at the 2016 Rio Games.

Archery The women's recurve group <'2024 Paris Olympics">South Korean athletes, who won the final match between South Korea and China, are cheering with the Korean national flag on the 28th (Korean time) in Anvalid, Paris, France. Paris (France) = Reporter Chung Jae-geun cjg@sportschosun.com /2024.7.28/

The 'golden jubilation' led to the archery range. The women's archery team, consisting of Lim Si-hyun (Korea National Sports University), Nam Soo-hyun (Suncheon City Hall), and Jeon Hoon-young (Incheon City Hall), achieved a great achievement of 10 consecutive losses. At the final of the women's team archery competition at Anvalid in Paris, France, on the 29th, they cheered after catching China at the end of the shoot-off. Since the 1988 Seoul Games, Korea has won 10 consecutive games, boasting the appearance of being the 'world's strongest'.

South Korea was ahead of the tournament. This time, only 143 athletes were dispatched in 21 sports. It is the lowest number in 48 years since the 1976 Montreal Games. South Korea aimed for five gold medals and the final 15th place. The outlook was also bleak. In an article predicting the winners of all detailed events at the Paris Olympics, the U.S. sports magazine Sports Illustrated analyzed Korea's Olympic performance with five gold medals, five silver medals and seven bronze medals. The media predicted that South Korea will win gold medals in the men's and women's archery team event, mixed team event, badminton men's doubles (Seo Seung-jae and Kang Min-hyuk), and fencing men's sabre team event. However, South Korea went on a gold medal march in fencing and shooting, defying expectations.

사진=UPI- Yonhap News

The momentum of Japan is also not easy. She won two gold medals in judo, a traditional medal event. Tsunoda Natsumi, a judo women's 48kg or less, won the top. Abe Hifumi, who is in the men's 66kg or less judo, won his second consecutive Olympic title. After the game, Hifumi said, "It was a very difficult day due to the loss of my sister (Abeutta). As an older brother, I had no choice but to do my best (in my game). I suppressed my emotions."

Photo = AFP Yonhap News

Japan's third gold medal was hailed by Koko Yoshizawa, who was born in 2009 and won gold in the women's skateboard street category. The fourth gold medal came in an unexpected event. Japan's Kano Koki of the men's epee became the first Japanese fencer to win the individual Olympic title. Japan's previous best individual fencing record at the 2008 Beijing Games was a silver medal won by Yuki Otayuki in the men's foil. Reporter Kim Autumn epi17@sportschosun.com

epi17@sportschosun.com