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Family Wife Byun Jung Eun [2020]
Occupation Athlete
Languages Korean
License number 02091983000
Club
| Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| World Cup | 3 | 4 | 8 | 15 | |
| Varsovie (POLAND), 2007-05-19 | Chicago (USA), 2012-06-22 | Padoue (ITALY), 2015-01-30 | |||
| Madrid (SPAIN), 2014-02-07 | Moscow (RUSSIA), 2014-03-21 | Padoue (ITALY), 2016-01-29 | |||
| Varsovie (POLAND), 2017-02-24 | Athènes (GREECE), 2014-04-25 | Madrid (SPAIN), 2016-05-13 | |||
| Budapest (HUNGARY), 2015-10-30 | Padoue (ITALY), 2017-02-03 | ||||
| Le Caire (EGYPT), 2019-11-15 | |||||
| Tbilisi (GEORGIA), 2022-01-15 | |||||
| Budapest (HUNGARY), 2022-03-18 | |||||
| Madrid (SPAIN), 2022-05-06 | |||||
| World Championship | 1 | - | - | 1 | |
| Wuxi (CHINA), 2018-07-19 | |||||
| Zone Championships | 2 | 3 | 2 | 7 | |
| Singapore (SINGAPORE), 2015-06-25 | Shanghai (CHINA), 2013-06-04 | Nantong (CHINA), 2007-08-22 | |||
| Wuxi (CHINA), 2016-04-13 | Bangkok (THAILAND), 2018-06-19 | Wakayama (JAPAN), 2012-04-22 | |||
| Seoul (KOREA), 2022-06-10 | |||||
| Grand Prix | 5 | 1 | 5 | 11 | |
| Budapest (HUNGARY), 2014-03-08 | Seoul (KOREA), 2018-03-30 | Plovdiv (BULGARIA), 2007-03-02 | |||
| New York (USA), 2014-12-13 | Plovdiv (BULGARIA), 2014-05-24 | ||||
| Moscow (RUSSIA), 2016-05-27 | Moscow (RUSSIA), 2017-06-02 | ||||
| Seoul (KOREA), 2017-03-31 | Seoul (KOREA), 2019-04-26 | ||||
| Orléans (FRANCE), 2021-11-11 | Orléans (FRANCE), 2022-12-08 | ||||
| Olympic Games | - | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Rio de Janeiro (BRAZIL), 2016-08-10 | |||||
| Tokyo (JAPAN), 2021-07-24 |
When and where did you begin this sport? He began fencing in 1996 when he was a junior high school student.
Why this sport? He was encouraged by one of his friends. His physical education teacher also encouraged him to take up fencing because he had long arms. He thought that sabre would be fit into his aggressive and short-tempered characteristics. "Sabre was my destiny."
Club / Team Korea Sports Promotion Foundation: Korea
Name of coach Kim Du-Hong [club], KOR; Won Woo-Young [national], KOR
Handedness Right
Year 2005
Competing for Korea
Tournament World Cup
Location Seoul, KOR
Nicknames Flaming Fencer, Fencing Gentleman, Inspector Gadget [after the cartoon character because of his long arms]. (in.naver.com, 14 Mar 2022; mk.co.kr, 22 Apr 2021; sports.chosun.com, 04 Sep 2020)
Most influential person in career His father. (imnews.imbc.com, 17 Aug 2016; hani.co.kr, 20 Aug 2021)
Hero / Idol Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo. (hankyung.com, 15 Oct 2014)
Injuries He injured his thigh at the 2015 World Cup event in Seoul, Republic of Korea. (chosun.com, 29 Mar 2015)
He sustained a finger injury at the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, Republic of Korea. (hankyung.com, 15 Oct 2014)
He injured his ankle one month before the 2012 Olympic Games in London. (kookje.co.kr, 04 Aug 2012)
Superstitions / Rituals / Beliefs He has three superstitions on competition day. He wears blue underwear, positions his sword towards his opponent, and has a ritual with his water bottle lids. (heraldpop.com, 15 Sep 2021)
Sporting philosophy / motto "It's not a sword fight, it's a foot fight." (mk.co.kr, 22 Apr 2021)
Awards and honours In 2022 he was presented with the Best Athlete Award in the competition category at Korean Sport and Olympic Committee Sports Awards. (spotvnews.co.kr, 02 Mar 2022)
In 2018 and 2021 he was named Male Fencer of the Year by the Korean Fencing Federation. (jndn.com, 20 Dec 2018; joongboo.com, 16 Mar 2022)
In 2016 he was presented with the Order of Sports Merit Cheongnyong [Blue Dragon] Medal by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of the Republic of Korea. (sports.chosun.com, 14 Oct 2016)
Milestones His bronze medal in individual sabre at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro made him the first male Korean fencer to win an Olympic medal in individual sabre, and the first male Korean fencer to win more than one Olympic medal in any fencing discipline or event, having previously won gold in team sabre at the 2012 Games in London. (SportsDeskOnline, 06 May 2021; imnews.imbc.com, 17 Aug 2016)
His gold in team sabre at the 2012 Olympic Games in London also saw him become a member of the first Korean men's team, along with Gu Bon-Gil, Oh Eun-Seok and Won Woo-Young, to win an Olympic medal in fencing. (SportsDeskOnline, 10 May 2021)
Ambitions To compete at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. (wkorea.com, 21 Sep 2021)
Other information RETURN FROM RETIREMENT
He announced his retirement from the national team after the 2018 Asian Games in Indonesia, and began working as a coach for the Korean Sports Promotion Foundation. However, he decided to return to international competition the following year. "I thought that I accomplished everything as a fencer after the 2018 Asian Games. However, I was then haunted by feelings of emptiness. Therefore, I decided to return to competitive action while I was still able to show my abilities for at least one more year. Although the 2020 Olympics was my ultimate goal, due to the postponement, there will then only be one year to go until the 2022 Asian Games. If I can get a result in Hangzhou, why not aim for the 2024 Olympic Games? My wife told me she has already finished packing to go to Paris." (mk.co.kr, 22 Apr 2021; mdonga.com, 15 Apr 2020; yna.co.kr, 29 Apr 2019; wkorea.com, 21 Sep 2021)
SANCTION
He was suspended from all competitions for one year after he tested positive for the banned substance hydrochlorothiazide at the 2005 World Cup event in Seoul, Republic of Korea. He argued unsuccessfully that the positive test was a result of sleeping pills he had taken to treat insomnia. "I was going to quit the sport, and travel to other countries. But my father, who passed away in 2009, kept persuading me to carry on." (Central European Journal of Sport Sciences and Medicine Vol.13 No.1, 2016, 07 Jun 2017; joins.com, 04 Aug 2012; donga.com, 25 May 2007)
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