Choi Mi-sun
South Korean recurve archer and Olympic gold medalist.
Choi Mi-sun (born 1 July 1996) is a South Korean recurve archer who won a gold medal in the women's team event at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
She made her international debut in May 2015 at the opening stage of the Archery World Cup in Shanghai, where she placed third in the women's individual event. Later that month, at the second World Cup leg in Antalya, she won two stages: she defeated compatriots Chang Hye-jin and the heavily favored 2012 double Olympic gold medalist Ki Bo-bae in the semifinals and final of the individual tournament, then partnered with Kim Woojin to win the mixed team event.
At the 2015 Summer Universiade in July, Choi was named to the South Korean team alongside Ki. She advanced to the women's individual final, where she faced Ki in what the Korean newspaper *Chungnam Ilbo* described as a battle between the present and future stars of Korean archery. Ki won the match in a one-arrow shoot-off, outscoring Choi ten points to nine after a closely contested duel. Later that year, Choi earned medals at the World Archery Championships and an individual gold at the season-ending Archery World Cup finals.
In spring 2016, Choi was selected for her first Olympic Games, joining Chang Hye-jin and defending Olympic champion Ki Bo-bae in Rio de Janeiro as part of South Korea's bid to defend its women's individual and team titles. She was tipped as a favorite for the individual gold alongside Ki and Chinese Taipei's Tan Ya-ting, with NBC's Jane Zorowitz calling Choi Ki's "biggest roadblock" to retaining her title. Her prospects improved in June when she matched Ki's world record score of 686 for a 72-arrow round at the third stage of the 2016 Archery World Cup.
At the Olympics in August, Choi won her first Olympic medal in the women's team event, as the Korean trio defeated Russia in the gold medal final by five set points to one in difficult conditions, securing South Korea's eighth consecutive women's team Olympic title. In the women's individual event, she started strongly in the 72-arrow ranking round and was on track to surpass the twenty-year-old Olympic record of 673 set by Lina Herasymenko before breezy conditions slowed her progress. She still ranked first with 669 points out of 720, three points ahead of Chang and six ahead of Ki, earning the top seed for the elimination stages.
Quick Facts
- Birth Date
- 1996-07-01
- Birth Place
- Muan County, South Korea
- Education
- Gwangju Women's University
- Height
- 168 cm
- Weight
- 53 kg
- Country
- South Korea
- Sport
- Archery
- Coach
- Kim Sung-eun
- Header Color
- lightsteelblue
- Show Medals
- yes
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Choi Mi-sun made her international debut in May 2015 at the opening stage of the 2015 Archery World Cup in Shanghai, finishing third in the women's individual event. Later that month, at the World Cup's second leg in Antalya, she won both the women's individual tournament (defeating compatriots Chang Hye-jin and the highly favoured 2012 double Olympic gold medalist Ki Bo-bae) and the mixed team event with Kim Woojin. At the 2015 Summer Universiade in July, she advanced to the women's individual final against Ki Bo-bae; Ki won in a one-arrow shoot-off after a closely fought match. Choi also won medals at the World Archery Championships and an individual gold medal at the season-ending Archery World Cup finals that year.
Reader's Guide
Choi Mi-sun's Olympic debut came in 2016, where she joined Chang Hye-jin and defending Olympic champion Ki Bo-bae in Rio de Janeiro as part of the South Korean women's team bid to defend their titles. She was tipped as one of the favourites for the women's individual gold medal alongside Ki and Chinese Taipei's Tan Ya-ting, with one commentator describing Choi as Ki's 'biggest roadblock' to retaining her title. In June 2016, Choi matched Ki's world record score of 686 for a 72-arrow round at the third stage of the 2016 Archery World Cup. At the Olympics, the women's team event landed Choi her first Olympic medal; the Korean trio defeated Russia in the gold medal final by five set points to one, bringing South Korea's eighth successive women's team Olympic title. In the women's individual event, Choi ranked first in the 72-arrow ranking round with 669 points, but was eliminated in the quarter-finals by Alejandra Valencia. In 2017, Choi broke the world record for a 72-arrow round with 687 points at the Summer Universiade, and won her first World Championship gold medal in the women's team event with Chang Hye-jin and Kang Chae-young. She was one of nine athletes honoured with a national award for sporting excellence at the 55th Korea Sports Awards in October 2017. Choi was not selected for Korea's international team in 2018, but was named alongside Chang Hye-jin and Kang Chae-young to contest the 2019 season.
Did You Know?
- Choi Mi-sun matched Ki Bo-bae's world record score of 686 for a 72-arrow round in June 2016.
- Choi was eliminated in the quarter-finals of the women's individual event at the 2016 Olympics by Alejandra Valencia.
More in Olympic Archers 1-24
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