Former South Korean weightlifter Jeon Sang-guen acknowledges the crowd at the Champions Park in Paris on Friday, after receiving his belated bronze medal for the 2012 London Olympics. Jeon finished fourth in the men's +105-kilogram event but was awarded the bronze medal after Ruslan Albegov of Russia, the original bronze medalist, was stripped of his medal for doping. (Yonhap)
A dozen years after competing in what turned out to be his last Olympic Games, former South Korean weightlifter Jeon Sang-guen received his bronze medal in a ceremony in Paris on Friday.
In a special ceremony by the Eiffel Tower on the sidelines of the 33rd Olympic Games, Jeon was belatedly presented with the bronze medal from the men's +105-kilogram event at the 2012 London Olympics.
Jeon, now 43 and long retired from the sport, originally placed fourth with a total of 436kg. Ruslan Albegov of Russia had taken the bronze medal at 448kg.
However, Albegov was stripped of that medal in March this year due to doping, and the International Olympic Committee's Executive Board approved the reallocation of the medal that same month.
Jeon, decked out in a black suit, received a thunderous ovation from the crowd gathered at the Champions Park near the iconic tower.
"I was worried that this wouldn't feel the same as the Olympic Games from 12 years ago. But it was nice to be out here today," Jeon said with a smile. "I am usually pretty shy, and I didn't think I would do much to celebrate. But when people cheered, my arms just went up. I celebrated with confidence."
Jeon now works at the Korea Minting, Security Printing & ID Card Operating Corp. He first served as head coach of KOMSCO's corporate weightlifting team, but after the team disbanded in 2014, Jeon took an office job at the state-run minting agency.
Jeon said he had accepted his defeat at the London Games, where he had been regarded as a medal contender, and he had long put his disappointment out of his mind.
"Doping should be eliminated," Jeon said. "I hope these medal reallocations will help in that regard."
South Korean Olympic medalists receive monthly pensions for the rest of their lives. As a bronze medalist, Jeon received his first installment of about 520,000 won (US$385) in April, but he will not be compensated for the nearly 12 years' worth of payments he didn't receive because they don't apply retroactively.
"I've never thought it was my money anyway," Jeon said. "I'll just take whatever they will give me now. My wife said we should be saving this for retirement."
Jeon said his coworkers offered him heartfelt congratulations before he traveled to Paris, but his teenage daughter, high school weightlifter Hee-soo, didn't tell him anything.
"My daughter didn't seem so impressed," Jeon said with a smile. "But Hee-soo has always said she doesn't care that I was a weightlifter. She has always been so composed and poised, and I respect her for that. I hope she grows into a great athlete."
Jeon is one of three South Korean weightlifters who have been elevated to the podium for the London Games following doping cases for their competitors.
Jang Mi-ran, currently vice sports minister, moved up from fourth place to third in the women's +75kg event. Jang, who won the 2008 Olympic gold in that same division, has not yet received her 2012 medal.
In the men's 94kg class, Kim Min-jae went all the way up from eighth place to the silver medal, after all three medalists, plus those who finished fourth, sixth and seventh, were disqualified after testing positive for banned substances. Kim received his silver medal in October 2019. (Yonhap)
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