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GU Bongil

sabre
Rank20
Pts78.000
Age34
HandR

Personal Information

Family Wife Park Eun-Joo, one son [2023]

Residence Seoul, KOR

Occupation Athlete

Languages Korean

Higher education Physical Education - Dong-Eui University: Busan, KOR

License number 27041989002

Club

GoldSilverBronzeTotal
World Cup74617
Padoue (ITALY), 2011-02-18Madrid (SPAIN), 2010-05-22New York (USA), 2011-06-24
Moscow (RUSSIA), 2011-03-18Padoue (ITALY), 2014-02-14Padoue (ITALY), 2012-02-17
Budapest (HUNGARY), 2014-11-21Györ (HUNGARY), 2016-12-02Moscow (RUSSIA), 2013-03-22
Varsovie (POLAND), 2015-02-20Luxembourg (LUXEMBOURG), 2020-03-06Athènes (GREECE), 2013-04-26
Madrid (SPAIN), 2015-05-01Varsovie (POLAND), 2017-02-24
Varsovie (POLAND), 2016-02-19Budapest (HUNGARY), 2023-03-24
Varsovie (POLAND), 2018-02-23
World Championship-213
Kazan (RUSSIA), 2014-07-15Catania (ITALY), 2011-10-09
Leipzig (GERMANY), 2017-07-19
Zone Championships72-9
Séoul (KOREA), 2010-07-08Séoul (KOREA), 2011-07-08
Wakayama (JAPAN), 2012-04-22Singapore (SINGAPORE), 2015-06-25
Shanghai (CHINA), 2013-06-04
Suwon City (KOREA), 2014-07-02
Hong Kong (HONG KONG, CHINA), 2017-06-17
Bangkok (THAILAND), 2018-06-19
Seoul (KOREA), 2022-06-10
Grand Prix-549
Budapest (HUNGARY), 2010-02-05Budapest (HUNGARY), 2011-03-05
Tunis (TUNISIA), 2010-03-21Varsovie (POLAND), 2013-05-18
Plovdiv (BULGARIA), 2012-02-04Cancun (MEXICO), 2017-12-15
Moscow (RUSSIA), 2017-06-02Moscow (RUSSIA), 2018-05-11
Padoue (ITALY), 2022-05-20

Sport Specific Information

When and where did you begin this sport? He began fencing in 2002 in Daegu, Republic of Korea.

Why this sport? He was playing football with his friends when he was encouraged to take up the sport by a fencing coach at his middle school. He was included in the school's sabre team because it was short of members.

Club / Team Korea Sports Promotion Foundation: Jeonnam, KOR

Name of coach Won Woo-Young [national], KOR

Handedness Right

General Interest

Hobbies Golf, playing video games. (xportsnews.com, 09 Oct 2021; Instagram profile, 02 Feb 2020; isplus.live.joins.com, 25 Apr 2019)

Superstitions / Rituals / Beliefs "I don't eat food on the day of a competition and avoid water as much as possible because it feels like my body is getting heavier." (hankookilbo.com, 03 Jan 2020)

Sporting philosophy / motto "My style is 80% attack and 20% defence." (sports.news.naver.com, 14 May 2019)

Awards and honours He and swimmer Kim Seo-Yeong were named flag bearers for the Republic of Korea for the opening ceremony of the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, People's Republic of China. (news1.kr, 12 Sep 2023)

In 2020 he was inducted into the International Fencing Federation [FIE] Hall of Fame. (Instagram profile, 24 Sep 2020; usafencing.org, 18 Sep 2020)

In 2019 he was presented with the Cheongryong [Blue Dragon] Medal, the highest Order of Sport Merit in the Republic of Korea. (sports.chosun.com, 15 Oct 2019)

He was flag bearer for the Republic of Korea at the opening ceremony of the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. (news.joins.com, 20 Jul 2016)

Milestones He was a member of the team that won the Republic of Korea's first Olympic gold medal in a fencing team event when he joined Kim Jung-Hwan, Oh Eun-Seok, and Won Woo-Young to claim victory in men's team sabre at the 2012 Games in London. (SportsDeskOnline, 10 May 2021)

Ambitions To win gold at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, People's Republic of China. (joongang.co.kr, 19 Feb 2023)

Other information OTHER ACTIVITIES
In 2021 he featured in a Korean television programme titled 'Sporty Brothers'. "I had reached a peak in my sporting career, but realised that the fencing was only temporarily popular in my country when we won medals. Therefore I wanted to promote the sport and myself through this programme." (Instagram profile, 31 Jan 2022, 18 Apr 2021; Echannel YouTube channel, 29 Apr 2021; enter.etoday.co.kr, 23 Apr 2021)

FURTHER EDUCATION
He has studied for a postgraduate degree at Kookmin University Graduate School of Sports Industry in Seoul, Republic of Korea. (cst.kookmin.ac.kr, 27 Jul 2021; UniK Naver blog, 04 Dec 2018)

Statistics

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