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Since its founding in 1949, Kyung Hee Athletics Department has achieved many accomplishments in various world and domestic competitions, including the Olympics

Following the success of Alum Chae-young Kang (Coaching, ‘15), a gold medalist in women's archery at the Tokyo Olympics, Student Taejoon Park (Taekwondo, ‘23) and Alum Hun-young Jeon (Coaching, ‘13) have won valuable gold medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics. The fact that both athletes achieved such great results despite being in their first Olympics is especially meaningful.

Student Taejoon Park records first-ever win in men's 58kg taekwondo
Student Park competed in the men's 58kg taekwondo class and recorded his first-ever gold medal in this event. It has been 16 years since a male Korean taekwondo athlete last won a gold medal in this weight class in the Olympics. In the semifinals, Student Park defeated the world’s No. 1 ranker, Mohamed Khalil Zendoubi of Tunisia, with a score of 2-0. He then carried this momentum into the final, demonstrating outstanding skills against Gasim Magomedov of Azerbaijan. During the second round of the final, Magomedov collapsed due to an injury and was forced to withdraw, leaving Student Park as the winner of the gold medal.

Despite this being the first gold medal for Korea in the 58kg class in 16 years, Student Park exemplified his Olympic spirit by showing concern for his opponent’s pain and injury rather than celebrating his victory. This considerate modesty continued even at the awards ceremony. Regarding his opponent’s injury, Student Park shared, “I felt bad and sorry to see him in pain. However, you must respect the opponent and the game by competing in the best of your ability until an official decision is made.” He also revealed his future goals, saying, “I have won an Olympic gold medal at a relatively young age, but this is just the beginning. I will continue to work hard to further my athletic career.”

Alum Hun-young Jeon, the key player in women’s archery team’s 10th consecutive victory in the Olympics
Alum Hun-young Jeon shot the golden arrow in the women’s archery team event. The final was fiercely contested, culminating in a shootout to decide the winner. The Korean women’s team scored a total of 29 points—defeating the Chinese team, which scored 27 points—to secure the incredible tenth consecutive Olympic gold medal for Korea, dominating the global archery scene for 40 years. Alum Jeon played a key role in this historic victory by scoring ten points five times in the final.

After the final, Alum Jeon reflected on her journey and said, “While there was great pressure on the national archery team with this incredible tradition of perfect victories by our predecessors, we overcame the burden and achieved our goal. I did my utmost during the preparation period, so I feel relieved and have no regrets.” Despite finishing 4th in the individual event, a result she found somewhat disappointing, she emphasized, “I personally felt a little disappointed, but I am happy that our team achieved such a great result. If possible, I want to continue to represent the country. The competition will be extremely fierce, but I will continue to do my best.”