Korean fencing ended the second day of competition ’empty-handed’.
South Korean fencer Oh Sang-wook (Daejeon Metropolitan Government) topped the men’s sabre on the first day of competition. Oh defeated Tunisia’s Fares Ferzani 15-11 in the men’s sabre individual final at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the Grand Palais in Paris, France, on Monday (Aug. 28). After reaching the quarterfinals in Tokyo, Oh stood on the Olympic podium for the first time in three years.
It was a “first, first, first” gold medal. Oh Sang-wook became the first Korean athlete to win a gold medal in Paris. On the first day of the medal races after the opening ceremony, the South Korean athlete brought home the gold medal for his country, which had previously won silver and bronze. Oh Sang-wook became the first Olympic gold medalist in the men’s individual sabre event. Previously, Kim Jung-hwan had won bronze in Rio 2016 and the previous two Olympics in Tokyo. He is the fourth Korean fencer to win an individual title, following Kim Young-ho, who won men’s foil gold in Sydney in 2000, Kim Ji-yeon, who won a surprise gold medal in women’s sabre in London in 2012, and Park Sang-young, who provided a ‘can-do’ inspiration in men’s epee in Rio 2016.
With this gold medal, Oh became the “first” individual grand slammer. After winning the 2019 Asian and World Championships and the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games, Oh won his last puzzle Olympic gold medal to complete the individual grand slam. He is the first Korean athlete to win a Grand Slam in the individual event. He was also the first Korean to win a Grand Slam in the team event, making him the “GOAT” of sabre.
With momentum in their favor, Korean fencers competed in the second men’s epee event and the women’s foil event 토토사이트 추천 on the same day, but Kim Jae-won (Gwangju Seo-gu Office) was the only Korean in both events.
To qualify for the Olympic Games, fencers must first qualify for the team event. Eight teams each qualify for the men’s and women’s sabre, épée and foil team competitions through team world rankings and regional rankings, and each team can send three athletes to compete in the individual events. If a team does not qualify, they will have to compete in the individual events based on their individual world ranking in the region.
South Korea failed to qualify for the team competition in both men’s epee and women’s foil, and only Kim Jae-won qualified for the individual competition in men’s epee through the individual rankings. In women’s foil, there were no individual competitors.
World No. 54 Kim Jae-won fought hard but fell short in the round of 32. Kim Jae-won (KOR) lost 12-14 to world No. 3 KOKI Kano (JPN) in the round of 32 of the men’s epee at the Paris Olympics at the Grand Palais in Paris, France on Monday.
After a close first period, Kim was down 3-6 double at the end of the second period, and after pushing Kano in the third period, he was counterattacked and fell behind 3-8. Down 6-12 with 27 seconds left, the Korean fencer went on the offensive and pulled within 12-13 with one second left, but there was not enough time to turn the tide.
Korean fencing continues its medal hunt on the 29th with the women’s sabre and men’s foil individual events. Yoon Ji-su, Jeon Ha-young (Seoul Metropolitan Government) and Choi Se-bin (Jeonnam Provincial Office) will compete in the women’s sabre, while Ha Tae-gyu (Chungnam Sports Federation) will compete in the men’s fleuré.