Veteran foil fencer 'relieved' to get last Olympics out of way

South Korean foil fencer Nam Hyun-hee said she felt "zero pressure" to deliver a medal when she arrived in Rio de Janeiro for her fourth Summer Olympics.She is 34 years old, only three years removed from a childbirth that cost her some valuable training time, and with younger teammates coming off Olympic medals and other international titles, Nam felt all the eyes would be on them instead. Park Hae-mook/The Korea HeraldThat explains her sense of relief following a second-round loss at the indivi

Olympic GamesAug. 11, 2016

N. Korean shooting medalist imagines 'one Korea'

North Korean shooter Kim Song-guk took the bronze medal in the men's 50m pistol at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, while South Korea's Jin Jong-oh won the gold.And Kim believes one Korea would have made these medals a much bigger deal. Park Hae-mook/The Korea Herald"If the two become one, then we'd have one big medal at hand," Kim said at a press conference at Olympic Shooting Center, after winning North Korea's third medal at these Games. "And if we have the gold medal and the bronze medal both ca

Olympic GamesAug. 11, 2016

Korea's Jin Jong-oh wins gold in men's 50m pistol shooting

South Korean shooter Jin Jong-oh captured gold in the men's 50m pistol at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics Wednesday.Jin scored an Olympic record 193.7 points in the final at Olympic Shooting Centre, rallying to defeat Hoang Xuan Vinh of Vietnam by 2.4 points.Park Hae-mook/The Korea HeraldJin became the first shooter, male or female, to win a single event in three consecutive Olympics.It was South Korea's fourth gold medal in Rio, and first medal of any kind in shooting. Jin had finished fifth in the

Olympic GamesAug. 11, 2016

Former Olympic medalist takes early exit in foil fencing

Two-time Olympic fencing medalist Nam Hyun-hee took an early exit from the women's individual foil at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics on Wednesday.Nam lost to Shiho Nishioka of Japan 15-12 in the round of 32. Park Hae-mook/The Korea HeraldNam opened a 6-2 lead early in the second period, but Nishioka scored six straight points to build an 8-6 lead.Leading 10-8 in the final frame, the Japanese contender reeled off four consecutive points to reach the brink of a victory. Nam hung tough and closed it t

Olympic GamesAug. 11, 2016

Swimmer Park Tae-hwan to head home after withdrawing from last Rio race

Slumping South Korean swimmer Park Tae-hwan has pulled out of his last race at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics.Park will not compete in the 1,500m freestyle, an official with the South Korean delegation said Wednesday, and will leave Rio on Thursday. Park Hae-mook/The Korea HeraldThe 1,500m was scheduled for Saturday.Competing in his fourth Olympics, Park failed to get out of the heats in his first three races: the 400m free, 200m free and 100m free. Park is the 2008 Olympic champion and 2012 silver

Olympic GamesAug. 11, 2016

Golf returns to Olympics after 112 years

Golf will make its long-awaited return to the Olympics on Thursday, as the first round of the men's competition gets underway with two South Koreans in the field.Golf was last contested at the Olympics in 1904. Park Hae-mook/The Korea HeraldThe men's competition has lost much of its luster with the absence of the world's top four players -- Jason Day, Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy. South Korea will be represented by two youngsters: the 24-year-old An Byeong-hun, the 2015 Europea

Olympic GamesAug. 11, 2016

KBO baseball pitcher denies involvement in match-fixing scandal

Police questioned a Korean pitcher Wednesday, looking into his alleged engagement in a match-fixing scandal that has plagued Korea’s top baseball league. 　 Lee Jae-hak, a right-handed starting pitcher for the NC Dinos, denied allegations he had deliberately allowed walks in the first inning of games during the 2014 Korean Baseball Organization league. 　 Pitcher Lee Jae-hak (Yonhap)Lee, 25, has constantly denied that he manipulated games, only to be sent to the second-tier league in accordance wi

BaseballAug. 10, 2016

Veteran South Korean fencer laments early exit in last hurrah

As he was getting ready for the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, South Korean veteran fencer Jung Jin-sun knew all along it would be his last hurrah.He just didn't want it to end the way it did Tuesday.Park Hae-mook/The Korea HeraldThe 2012 bronze medalist in the men's individual epee couldn't repeat the feat this time, falling to Enrico Garozzo of Italy in the round of 32."I've prepared so hard for my last Olympics, and I am upset at myself for getting only this far," he told Yonhap News Agency after h

Olympic GamesAug. 10, 2016

South Korean Park Sang-young wins gold in epee fencing

South Korean fencer Park Sang-young won gold in the men's individual epee at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics on Tuesday, powered by a furious comeback that erased a late deficit.Park defeated Geza Imre of Hungary 15-14 in the thrilling final at Carioca Arena 3 for South Korea's first fencing medal in Rio.Down 14-10 with under three minutes remaining, Park reeled off five unanswered points to complete the unlikely comeback and give South Korea its third gold medal here."I wasn't even thinking about t

Olympic GamesAug. 10, 2016

Struggling swimmer hints at return for 5th Olympics in Tokyo

Park Hae-mook/The Korea HeraldStruggling South Korean swimmer Park Tae-hwan on Tuesday hinted at returning for his fifth Olympics, saying he owes it to himself and fans to perform better than he has at the ongoing Rio de Janeiro Summer Games.Park missed out on the semifinals in the 100m freestyle on Tuesday at Olympic Aquatics Centre, the third time he failed to make it out of the heats in Rio. At 49.24 seconds, Park was only 32nd among 59 swimmers.Afterward, Park said this isn't the kind of an

Olympic GamesAug. 10, 2016

Reigning gold medalist fails to reach pistol shooting final

 South Korean shooter Kim Jang-mi failed to defend her 25m pistol gold medal at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics on Tuesday.Kim finished ninth in the qualification rounds at Olympic Shooting Centre, unable to join the top eight that moved on to the final.Park Hae-mook/The Korea HeraldKim shot 582 points -- 288 points in the precision portion and 294 points in the rapid fire portion. She was tied in total points with Heidi Diethelm Gerber of Switzerland and Ekaterina Korshunova of Russia, but they hit

Olympic GamesAug. 10, 2016

South Korean archer Lee Seung-yun reaches round of 16 in men's individual

South Korean archers Lee Seung-yun and Chang Hye-jin cruised to the round of 16 in the men's and women's individual competitions at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics on Tuesday.Lee, who helped South Korea to the team gold medal Saturday, won both of his elimination matches at Sambodromo and will resume his gold medal quest on Friday.Park Hae-mook/The Korea HeraldLee, world No. 8, began the day by defeating Daniel Rezende Xavier of Brazil by the set score of 6-2 (28-22, 30-27, 27-28, 28-26).Each set co

Olympic GamesAug. 10, 2016

Star-crossed handball player out of Rio Games with shoulder injury

Star-crossed South Korean handball player Kim On-a has been ruled out of the Rio de Janeiro Olympics with a shoulder injury.The Korean Olympic Committee said Tuesday Kim, one of the top offensive weapons on the women's team, will miss the rest of the Olympics with the injury suffered against Sweden on Monday.Park Hae-mook/The Korea HeraldSouth Korea will name Kim's replacement momentarily.South Korea lost that game 31-28, their second straight loss in the preliminary round. South Korea lost to R

Olympic GamesAug. 10, 2016

Stielike says S. Korea should not settle for draw in Mexico match

Uli Stielike, the head coach of the South Korean senior national football squad, said Tuesday the Olympic football team should not settle for a draw against Mexico. South Korea will face Mexico at Mane Garrincha Stadium in Brasilia on Wednesday for their last Group C men's football match at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics. South Korea lead the group with four points after beating Fiji 8-0 last Thursday and having a 3-3 draw with Germany on Sunday.Park Hae-mook/The Korea HeraldMexico, the 2012 Olympi

Olympic GamesAug. 10, 2016

[Newsmaker] Phelps bids for astonishing 20th gold

Michael Phelps will set his sights on a record-extending 20th Olympic swimming gold on Tuesday when he tries to wrest back the 200m butterfly title from Chad le Clos.Katie Ledecky will also be battling for another key swimming title on an Olympic day in which 14 golds will be up for grabs.Phelps, the most decorated Olympian of all time has already topped the podium in Rio after the USA's 4x100m win, and will now go for individual glory at the age of 31. United States` Michael Phelps competes in

Olympic GamesAug. 9, 2016

Korea reels from shock Rio defeats

Monday was barren day for South Korea at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, with a handful of medal contenders unable to deliver on expectations.With no medals won Monday, South Korea remained stuck at two gold, two silver and one bronze. The country has set out to grab at least 10 gold medals and finish in the top 10 in the medals table for the fourth consecutive Olympics.South Korea is now eighth in the medal standings. The U.S. led the medal standings for the second straight day with five golds, se

Olympic GamesAug. 9, 2016

Korea falls to Russia in women's volleyball

South Korea has fallen to Russia in women's volleyball at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, unable to contain the opponent's relentless attack in the late stage.After an early seesaw battle, Russia came out on top 3-1 (25-23, 23-25, 25-23, 25-14) at Maracanazinho on Monday for its second consecutive victory in Pool A.Park Hae-mook/The Korea HeraldSouth Korea, which defeated Japan to open the Olympics, dropped to 1-1. It will next face Argentina on Wednesday at the same venue.Neither team led by more

Olympic GamesAug. 9, 2016

Korean sailors say Rio waters cleaner than before

South Korean sailor Ha Jee-min has been coming to Rio de Janeiro for three years for competitions, and he remembers seeing debris floating in the polluted waters of the Brazilian city.But when he began his Olympic campaign Monday in the Laser event at Marina da Gloria -- the starting point for sailing events in Guanabara Bay -- Ha found the waters "very clean."Park Hae-mook/The Korea Herald"My first year here, the waters were extremely bad, and there were sofas in them," Ha said. "But they weren

Olympic GamesAug. 9, 2016