South Korea carried on with one historic feat after another in the final days of the Summer Olympics in London. Its football team won the country’s firstever Olympic medal on Friday, two days before the Games closed.
Taekwondo fighter Hwang Kyungseon pulled off her second straight Olympic triumph, bringing South Korea its 13th gold medal to match its previous record for most gold medals.
Son Yeon-jae advanced into the final round of rhythmic gymnastics for the first time in Korean Olympic history, and finished fifth.
The Koreans exceeded their Olympic goal of winning 10 gold medals and being among top 10 in the medal race. It hauled in 13 gold, seven silver and as many bronze medals as of Saturday, matching its record gold medal count set in Beijing four years ago.
The 30th London Olympic Games closed out 16 days of impressive competition as it came to an end at 5 a.m. Korean time Monday at the Olympic Stadium.
The Korean football squad, which upset Britain in the quarterfinal, trumped Japan 2-0 in the bronze medal match.
It achieved its 64-year-old dream of winning a medal since South Korea debuted on the Olympic football stage in London in 1948.
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The Olympic soccer team poses for a photo during a ceremony at Incheon International Airport on Sunday. The team grabbed the bronze medal in London. (Kim Myung-sub/The Korea Herald) |
The Koreans also have become the second Asian nation to win an Olympic football medal after Japan had captured the bronze in Mexico in 1968.
Striker Park Chu-young scored late in the first half and midfielder Koo Ja-cheol sealed their victory with another goal in the second half. In the 38th minute, Park, taking control of the loose ball near center, charged up the middle and outmaneuvered three defenders to blast the opening goal. Koo capitalized on a breakaway chance in the 57th and sank a right-foot shot into the net.
The bronze medal exempts the footballers from mandatory military service. An Olympic medal of any color grants all male athletes this exemption if they haven’t yet served in the armed forces.
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South Korea’s Hwang Kyung-seon celebrates with her taekwondo gold medal.(London Olympic Joint Press Corps) |
Hwang struck gold in women’s 67 kg-class taekwondo by overwhelming Nur Tatar of Turkey in the final 12-5. It was her second successive gold and third straight medal. The 26-year-old had captured bronze in 2004 and gold in 2008. She is also the first South Korean to claim a gold medal in the Korean martial art at the London Games.
Son became the first South Korean rhythmic gymnast to qualify for an Olympic all-around final. The 18-year-old, youngest of the 10 finalists, finished fifth with 111.475 points combined from hoop, ball, clubs and ribbon routines.
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South Korea’s Son Yeon-jae competes during the rhythmic gymnastics individual all-around final. She placed fifth. (London Olympic Joint Press Corps) |
She was only 0.225 points behind the bronze medalist, Liubov Charkashyna of Belarus.
Son was among the top five in hoop, ball and ribbon, but was ninth in clubs after failing to catch both clubs that she had thrown up in the air.
On Saturday, South Korea didn’t add to its medal tally.
Two taekwondo fighters left the mat empty-handed. Both the women’s handball and women’s volleyball teams fell in the bronze medal matches.
Defending champ Cha Dong-min was eliminated in the quarterfinal of men’s over-80 kg category. Lee In-jong competing in women’s over-67 kg lost the bronze medal bout in sudden-death extra time.
The women’s volleyball squad was blanked by Japan in three straight sets, while the women’s handball team lost the bronze medal decider to Spain 29-31.
By Chun Sung-woo (
swchun@heraldcorp.com)
