With the Paris Olympics two months away, the Korean national fencing team said Monday its goal is to bring home multiple gold medals.
Korea has won at least one fencing gold medal at every Olympics since 2012, with one gold, one silver and three bronze medals in Tokyo three years ago.
That lone gold came from the men’s team sabre event, with Gu Bon-gil, Oh Sang-uk, Kim Jung-hwan and Kim Jun-ho coming through for Korea’s third straight Olympic gold in that discipline.
This time, Gu and Oh will have new teammates in Park 추천 Sang-won and Do Gyeong-dong. Kim Jung-hwan has not competed internationally this season, while Kim Jun-ho has retired from the national team.
The new-look sabre squad teamed up for silver at a World Cup event in Budapest in March, quelling concerns about their Olympic chances.
“Our goal is to win both the individual and the team gold medals,” said Gu, the senior member of the team at age 35, during the national team media day at Jincheon National Training Center in Jincheon, about 85 kilometers south of Seoul.
His coach, Won Woo-young, wasn’t as brash in his prediction.