Heo Mi-mi follows Kim Min-jong with World Championship gold
Men's heavyweight Kim Min-jong caused a sensation. Korean judo won its first gold medal in 39 years at the World Judo Championships in the men's 100+ kg category.
Kim Min-jong defeated Georgia's Guram Tushishvili in the men's 100 kg final at the International Judo Federation (IJF) World Judo Championships 2024 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE), on Thursday (Feb. 24).
Kim's victory was the first for South Korean men's judo in six years after Ahn Chang-rim (73 kg) and Cho Gu-ham (100 kg) won in 2018. It was also the first time in 39 years that a South Korean athlete had won gold in the men's 카지노사이트 추천 heaviest weight class at a world championships since 1985 under current Korean Judo Federation president Chung Eui-chul.
Kim was selected to the national team in 2018, when he was a senior at Boseong High School, and quickly became the hope of South Korea's judo program when he won a bronze medal at the World Championships the following year.
However, Kim was disappointed to lose in the round of 16 at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. However, she went on to win a medal at every international competition she competed in, and she is now on track to win Olympic gold at the Paris 2024 Games.
In the women's 78kg+ category, Kim Ha-yoon (7th, Ansan City Hall) took bronze. Kim was pinned in the second round by Brazil's Soja 안전놀이터 Beatriz in the consolation semifinals, but rebounded to score a half-thigh hold against Asia Tabano (ITA) in the bronze medal match.
Kim was the only member of the women's judo team to compete at the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games last year. South Korea finished the individual competition with two gold and three bronze medals to finish third in the team standings.
In particular, men's heavyweight Kim Min-jong and women's 57-kilogram Heo Mi-mi won gold medals, marking a resurgence in the "filial" sport of judo. South Korean judo hasn't won a gold medal since Kim Jae-beom and Song Dae-nam won gold at the London 2012 Olympics.
The Korean team will compete in the mixed team event on Friday before returning home on Saturday.