Kim Jae-bum wins judo gold at 2nd attempt

Kim Jae-bum wins judo gold at 2nd attempt

By Jung Min-ho Kim Jae-bum was like a bulldozer. The Korean judoka didn’t smile and kept attacking his opponent until he raised his hands in victory in the under-81 kilogram class final against Germany’s Ole Bischof in London, Wednesday morning. It was a repeat of the final at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. There, Kim lost and cried during a post-match interview. He was overwhelmed by emotion and acted as if he had done something wrong. On Tuesday, he cried in celebration. He stared into a television camera and spoke clearly about his victory that came four years too late. “I entered the Beijing competition with the aim to live and I lost. This time I went in thinking I would rather die than lose, and won,” Kim said, perhaps quoting with a slight twist Admiral Yi Soon-shin of the Chosun Kingdom, who defeated Japanese invaders. Kim traveled to London after winning the gold at the 2011 World Championships and 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games. Elated and overwhelmed, a tearful Kim hugged his opponent before thanking the fans. Four years ago, Kim switched from under-73 kilograms to under-81 kilograms just six months before the 2008 Summer Games. After reaching the required weight, in the final round, he faced Bischof for the first time and lost. But this time, the Olympic defending champion faced a different Kim who was much faster and stronger. As soon as the latest encounter between the two started, Kim took control by earning his first yuko, the smallest score in judo, in 41 seconds with a nimble inner leg sweep. After several more attempts to finish the match, Kim finally added another yuko to seal victory and mend the emotional scars. “I lost to him four years ago because I simply wasn’t good enough,” Kim said. “Today, I came out to beat him.” Kim’s victory was accomplished despite overcoming injury problems. His left shoulder was completely dislocated in a competition at the end of last year and he tore ligaments in his left ring finger only a month before the London Games. However, the pain could not break his spirit. After the injuries, he had said: “My left side is almost not functional. I just hope my body can hold out until the end of the Olympics.” And it did. “I prayed, ‘Please let this be the day for me,’” Kim said. “Now that I’ve won the gold, I can’t describe the feeling.” After the match, the former champion showed great respect for Kim, raising the new champion’s arm on top of the Olympic podium. "Four years ago was he quite young and was the Asian champion. Now I'm four years older while he's developed," Bischof was quoted as saying. "He's much stronger and quicker, he deserved to be champion and I'm happy he got the gold medal."

Korea’s up-and-down day

Korean swimmer Park Tae-hwan throws a bouquet of flowers toward his mother after capturing the silver medal in the 200-meter freestyle on Monday. (London Olympic Joint Press Corps)

Park wins 2nd silver; fencer loses controversial semis; judoka falls


South Korean ace swimmer Park Tae-hwan captured silver in the 200m freestyle at the London 2012 Olympics Monday.

In the men’s 200m freestyle final, Park marked 1 minute and 44.93 seconds, behind the winner Yannick Agnel of France, who ended the race with 1:43.13.

Park’s record was 0.13 seconds slower than his personal best, also the Asian high, that he had set in the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games where he clinched the gold medal.

Park has become the first South Korean male swimmer to win two medals in back-to-back Olympics. Park won silver behind American Michael Phelps in the 200m free at the Beijing Games.

It was also his second medal in London after winning silver in the 400m free. The 200m free is not Park’s major event.

Sun Yang of China, gold medalist in the 400m free, shared second place with Park in the 200m free. France’s Yannick Agnel clinched a double gold at the London Olympics after winning the men’s 400m relay Sunday. American swimming star Ryan Lochte failed to win a medal in the 200m free after placing fourth.

South Korea fell victim to yet another officiating dispute Monday. Epee fencer Shin A-lam had a controversial defeat in the women’s semifinals and then lost the bronze medal round.

Shin and Britta Heidemann of Germany were locked at 5-5 inside the extra minute period. One second left to the end of the extra period, Shin allowed a hit, and her coaching staff claimed the winning assault was made after time was up, saying the clock had stopped with one second remaining.

During the final second, Heidemann attempted three attacks, all of which Shin fended off, and then, hit the Korean fencer on her fourth attempt.

The jury deliberated for nearly 30 minutes before awarding Heideman the win. If the clock had worked and the extra period ended in a tie, Shin would have advanced to the final.

The 25-year-old Shin collapsed onto the floor in tears. She later lost to China’s Sun Yujie in the bronze medal bout.

South Korea’s favorite judoka Wang Ki-chun failed to claim his first Olympic gold in London.

The 2008 Beijing Olympics silver medalist fell to Russia’s Mansur Isaev in the semifinals and then lost to Ugo Legrand of France in the bronze medal match.

Wang injured a ligament in his right elbow during the match in the round of 32 against Rinat Ibragimov of Kazakhstan.

In other sports, the women’s handball team edged Denmark 25-24 for its second straight victory in the group stage. It was South Korea’s first win over Denmark in the Olympics in five matches. Two of the previous defeats happened during the finals at the 1996 Atlanta and 2004 Athens Olympic Games.

The women’s volleyball squad defeated winless Serbia 3-1 (25-12, 25-16, 16-25, 25-21) for one win and one loss.

In terms of medals, North Korea rose to fourth place with three gold and one bronze, as South Korea dropped from fourth to sixth with two gold, two silver and two bronze medals.

China remained on top with nine gold medals, followed by the U.S. with five gold medals.

By Chun Sung-woo (swchun@heraldm.com)

2NE1 collaborates with guitar prodigy

2NE1 unveiled on Wednesday a video in collaboration with a teen guitarist sensation, giving fresh breath to their latest single “I Love You.”

According to the K-pop group’s agency YG Entertainment, the video of the project, titled “YG ON AIR - 2NE1 X Jung Sung-ha acoustic collaboration,” was released worldwide through Internet portal site Naver.

In the footage, the four members sit in a studio singing the newly rearranged acoustic version of their hit song to Jung’s accompaniment.

“Instead of the electronic sound of the original ’I Love You,’ we created a smoother vibe using acoustic guitar sounds coupled with the members’ attractive voices for this project,” an agency official said.

The project was proposed by the agency after watching the guitar guru’s performances on YouTube covering 568 songs including 2NE1 hits such as “Lonely” and “Don’t Cry.” The videos have notched up 511 million hits.

The 17 year-old guitarist’s path to sudden fame began in 2006 at just 10 years of age when a close acquaintance recommended that a video of his recital of a popular Japanese rock anthem titled “Splash” be uploaded on the site.

Meanwhile, 2NE1 kicked off their first world tour with Seoul concerts on July 28 and 29 at the Gymnastics Stadium, Olympic Park. They are slated to tour 10 cities in seven different countries in Asia, the Americas and Europe.


By Park Han-na
(hnpark@heraldm.com)