Published : Aug. 13, 2012 - 19:23
LONDON (Yonhap News) ― South Korea’s first Summer Olympics under its own flag was the 1948 London Games. It won a bronze medal each from men’s weightlifting and boxing. In the ensuing decades, South Korea has developed into a major economy and also a consistent top-10 threat in the Summer Olympic medal standings.
At this year’s Summer Olympics, which wrapped up Sunday, South Korea finished in fifth place with 13 gold medals, tying its record for most titles at a single Olympics and easily meeting its stated goal of finishing in the top-10 with at least 10 golds. Gold medals came from seven different sports, led by three each from archery and shooting.
Lee Kee-heung, the chief of the South Korean Olympic delegation, said the athletes this year did their forefathers proud with their performances.
“At this year’s Olympics, we wanted to pay tribute to our predecessors who participated in the 1948 London Olympics,” Lee said in an interview on Saturday.
“We also had a significant opportunity to display our improved profile. We’re honored to have exceeded our goal and given great pleasure to people back home.”
He said the result is thanks to the combination of people’s support, the government’s assistance, and hard work put in by athletes and their coaches.
Lee noted improved performances in shooting and fencing, where South Korea earned five gold medals combined. The country picked up three of four gold medals in archery, one of its traditional strengths. Yang Hak-seon in the men’s vault won the country’s first Olympic gold in gymnastics.
Lee credited the Korean training camp at a local institute, Brunel University, for helping athletes achieve greater heights.
“This is the best thing we have done at these Olympics as a delegation,” he said. “The training base allowed athletes to train with proper partners, served them delicious and nutritious Korean food, and offered medical care. We will look to open a similar camp for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.”
South Korea also often found itself at the center of officiating controversies, most notably involving female epee fencer Shin A-lam. In the sudden-death extra time during her semifinal bout against Britta Heidemann of Germany, the two fencers exchanged three simultaneous hits while the clock, showing one second left, never ticked down.
After the third exchange, the clock went down to zero and then was reset to the one-second mark. The German finally got her decisive hit for the victory on her fourth try.
South Korea’s appeal was rejected by the International Fencing Federation. The Korean Olympic Committee sought a joint medal for Shin but was turned down by the International Olympic Committee.
Lee said Shin got the short end of the stick in her bout, but that doesn’t absolve South Korean officials of their responsibility.
“Clearly, there were problems with how Shin’s bout was handled,” he said.
“But for our part, we overlooked a proper procedure for appealing, and we shouldn’t look past that bit of responsibility.”