Park Gyeong-Mo

Park Gyeong-Mo (also Park Kyung-Mo) débuted in his country’s national team at age 18, and immediately competed in the World Championships. In Antalya, Turkey, he claimed the individual world title right away, while the South Koreans came in second place in the team competition. The following year, Park won the double at the Asian Games in Hiroshima, taking both individual and team titles. Facing strong national competition, Park disappeared from the international scene until the 21st century. He then reappeared in full strength, helping the South Koreans win team golds at the 2001, 2003 and 2005 World Championships, as well as the Asian Championships in these same years. In 2004, he also made his Olympic début. Despite an Olympic record in his third round 18-arrow match against Anton Prilepov (173 out of a possible 180), Park was eliminated in the quarter-finals and ranked fifth. He did help his team win a gold medal in the team event, a performance he repeated at the Beijing Olympics. There, Park also medaled individually. In a close final against Ukraine’s Viktor Ruban, Park lost narrowly, 112-113, scoring the only 8 of the match in his penultimate arrow. Retiring after the Games, he married fellow archer and Olympic champion, Park Seong-Hyeon.