Olympics: Kim Woojin poised on edge of history

Korean team captain Kim Woojin now has three men’s team gold medals from three Olympic Games – Rio 2016, Tokyo 2020, and now Paris 2024.

It’s already an extraordinary achievement, and makes him only the second archer – after Kim Soo-Nyung – to take three gold medals from three different Games.

But in Paris, Woojin is entered into the mixed team as well as the individual competition. Korea will be favourites to win the mixed team, and – if he can get over his previous failures in the individual competition – he is definitely in with a shot at the men’s individual title.

If he manages to win both of those, he will have five gold medals, which would make him the most successful Olympic archer of all-time. 

Not only that – the most successful Korean archer of all time, surpassing even the achievements of a list of legendary women like Soo-Nyung, Park Sung-Hyun and Ki Bo Bae. (The latter two are both here in Paris commentating for Korean TV). It would also make him only the second archer to achieve three golds at a single Games after An San.

He would also be, by number of gold medals, the most successful Korean Olympic athlete ever. 

In the individual competition, Woojin still faces a very tough half of the men’s draw, facing world number one Marcus D’Almeida in the last 16 and possibly reigning Olympic Champion Mete Gazoz in the last eight, as well as – perhaps – his teammate Lee Woo Seok after that.

It is very much not a done deal. 

Woojin is not a man given to pontificating in depth to the press and tends to politely bat away questions about his achievements, especially during competition.

“At the last Olympics I didn’t make it past the quarterfinals. But that’s something that’s past,” he said earlier this week when asked about his falling short in the individual competition in Rio and Tokyo.

“It’s something I can forget and I can continue to work on these Olympics.” 

He is the eleventh Korean athlete to achieve three gold medals or more, and the sixth archer.

Of his third Olympic gold medal he merely said it was “very much an honour.”

Woojin has already been previously described as the greatest recurve archer in history, but has also indicated that he has no plans to quit just yet.

“I still have some more Games to go so I will do my best,” the Korean said earlier this week.

His story is still being written here in Paris.