Kim Woo-jin (archer)

Lore & Background

Kim Woo-jin first held the world number one ranking in 2011. He was part of the gold medal-winning men's team at the 2011 World Archery Championships and won the individual gold medal at that same championship and the 2012 FITA Archery World Cup. Despite these achievements, he was not selected for the 2012 Korean Olympic team. In 2015, he was again selected for the Korean national team and became the first man since 1985 to win the World Archery Championships twice. At the 2016 Summer Olympics, he set a world record in the men's individual qualifying round with a score of 700 out of 720, but lost in the second round of the individual event. He won a gold medal in the men's team event that year. At the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics, he earned a gold medal in the men's team event and finished fifth in the individual event.

Reader's Guide

Kim Woo-jin's significance in Olympic archery is defined by his record of five Olympic gold medals, the most won by any archer in the world, surpassing the four won by Kim Soo-nyung. This also makes him the most awarded Korean Olympian of all time in any sport. His gold medals span three consecutive Olympics: 2016, 2020, and 2024. At the 2024 Summer Olympics, he won the men's individual gold medal after a tiebreaker with American archer Brady Ellison, and also secured a gold medal in the men's team event. This made him one of only two athletes, along with Kim Soo-nyung, to achieve three consecutive team gold medals in archery at the Olympics. His gold completed South Korea's clean sweep of archery at that Olympics. His world record of 700 in the individual qualifying round at the 2016 Olympics stood until surpassed by Brady Ellison in 2019.

Did You Know?

• Kim Woo-jin set a world record in men's individual recurve archery at the 2016 Summer Olympics with a score of 700 out of 720.
• He won his fifth Olympic gold medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics after a tiebreaker with American archer Brady Ellison.