From 'archery genius' to world champion: Kim Je-deok

 

Archer Kim Je-deok appears on SBS's variety show 'Finding Genius' in 2016 at the age of 12 as the 'archery genius.' Now 17 years old, Kim has won the gold medal in the mixed team event at the Tokyo Olympic Games, Saturday. Courtesy of SBS
Archer Kim Je-deok appears on SBS's variety show "Finding Genius" in 2016 at the age of 12 as the "archery genius." Now 17 years old, Kim has won the gold medal in the mixed team event at the Tokyo Olympic Games, Saturday. Courtesy of SBS

By Kwak Yeon-soo

Five years after winning three gold medals at the 45th National Junior Sports Festival, archery exponent Kim Je-deok nabbed Korea's first gold medal of the Tokyo Olympics in his senior debut with his teammate An San in the archery mixed team event.

Kim and An, the youngest members of the men's and women's archery teams, defeated Steve Wijler and Gabriela Schloesser of the Netherlands in the final, Saturday. Bronze medals went to Alejandra Valencia and Luis Alvarez of Mexico.

The pair's dramatic victory underscores Korea's strength in archery. Team Korea has captured 14 of 17 gold medals in archery competitions since the current format was introduced to the Olympics in 1988.

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The 17-year-old Kim is 스포츠토토사이트 for a bright future as he became the youngest person to ever win an Olympic gold medal in Korea's archery team history. With the latest feat, he will automatically receive exemption from his mandatory military service. Korea's male athletes who win any Olympic medal are exempted from national military service.

If it hadn't been for COVID-19 pushing the Tokyo Olympics back a year, Kim would have given up his chances to compete for his homeland. Stymied by a shoulder injury, he originally withdrew from the selection match for the national team in 2019. However, the unprecedented one-year postponement has given him another chance to play for the national team.

Archer Kim Je-deok appears on SBS's variety show 'Finding Genius' in 2016 at the age of 12 as the 'archery genius.' Now 17 years old, Kim has won the gold medal in the mixed team event at the Tokyo Olympic Games, Saturday. Courtesy of SBS
Kim Je-deok competes in the mixed team event in round 16 against Bangladesh at the Tokyo Olympics at Yumenoshima Park Archery Field in Tokyo, Saturday. Yonhap

Kim got into archery in 2013 when he was nine years old. In 2016, he was introduced as the 12-year-old "archery genius" on SBS's variety show "Finding Genius." On the show, he outshot Chinese archer An Qixuan.

Meanwhile, Kim's partner An San set an Olympic record to win the women's ranking round on Friday, scoring 680 out of a possible 720 points. Thanks to her top individual score, An represented Korea in the mixed team event.

After winning the gold medal, the two said they were happy to have taken the gold medal in the Olympic debut of the archery mixed team event.

"Before the match, I had a dream about snakes. That felt like a good sign. I was confident about winning because I've worked so hard and spent a long time training," Kim told reporters afterward.

Kim's goal is to win two more gold medals ― he is set to compete in the men's team and men's individual events.

Meanwhile, An said she has been reminding herself constantly that she's done well to get to this far and is continuing to do well. "I often told myself 'There's nothing I can't do if I have the will,'" she said. Next up, the 20-year-old archer will compete in the women's team and women's individual events.

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