Fencer delivers 1st gold for S. Korea; swimmer wins bronze

Jul 29, 2024, 10:33 am

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Oh Sang-uk, center, poses with his other medalists after winning gold in the men’s sabre fencing at the 2024 Paris Olympics at the Grand Palais in Paris on July 28, 2024./ Source: Yonhap News

AsiaToday reporter Jung Jae-ho

Oh Sang-uk won the gold medal in the men’s individual sabre fencing at the Paris Summer Games on Saturday, giving South Korea its first gold medal of this year’s Olympics. Kim Woo-min became the second South Korean swimmer, after Park Tae-hwan, to win an Olympic medal. South Korea wasted no time getting on the board at the Paris Olympics with Oh and Kim winning medals on the first day.

Oh defeated Fares Ferjani of Tunisia by 15-11 in the gold medal bout at Grand Palais in Paris, becoming the first Korean gold medalist in the national athletes team. His performance was overwhelming. Starting with Evann Girault of Niger in the Table of 32, he defeated Ali Pakdaman of Iran by 15-10 in the Table of 16, Fares Arpa by 15-13 in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, Oh beat Luigi Samele, a silver medalist in the individual fencing team at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, by 15-5.

Oh won the gold medal in the men’s individual sabre fencing at the Olympics for the first time in Korean fencing history. He has now won an individual gold medal in all four major competitions for Asian fencers: the Olympics, the Asian Games, the world championships and the Asian championships.

Kim Woo-min won the bronze medal in the men’s 400-meter freestyle swimming on the same day. Kim finished third with a time of 3:42.50 at Paris La Defense Arena in Nanterre, just west of Paris, giving Korea its second medal of this Olympics. Lukas Maertens of Germany took home the gold medal in 3:41.78 after leading the race the entire way. Elijah Winnington of Australia grabbed the silver medal in 3:42.21, after trailing Kim most of the way and then nipping him at the finish. Kim has joined Park Tae-hwan, a four-time medalist, as the only two Korean swimmers with an Olympic medal.

Meanwhile, the country won the first medal at the Olympics in rifle shooting. Park Ha-jun and Keum Ji-hyeon teamed up for the silver medal in the 10-meter air rifle mixed team event, losing to Sheng Lihao and Huang Yuting of China 16-12 in the gold medal match at the Chateauroux Shooting Centre in Chateauroux, about 270 kilometers south of Paris.

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