Phelps scores 19th Olympic gold

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) -- Michael Phelps has to clear out more space in his medal case.Time to make room for gold No. 19.　With yet another dazzling performance, the most decorated athlete in Olympic history added to his staggering haul Sunday night in the 4x100-meter freestyle relay, giving the United States a lead it never relinquished.　“When I was on the block, I honestly thought my heart was going to explode out of my chest,” Phelps said.　“I was so hyped tonight and so excited.”Michael Phelps (l

Aug. 8, 2016

Korean gymnast picked among Vogue’s 5 most stylish Olympic stars

South Korean rhythmic gymnast Son Yeon-jae has been listed among the “five most stylish Olympic stars” charted by international fashion magazine Vogue last week, according to its Internet edition on Sunday.(LG Electronics)The 22-year-old star was placed on the fashion magazine‘s stylish Olympic athletes’ list with four others -- American track and field star Allyson Felix, Canadian tennis champion Eugenie Bouchard, American sabre fencer ace Ibtihaj Muhammad and British track and field star Jazmi

Aug. 8, 2016

Park congratulates South Korean women’s archery team on winning gold medal

President Park Geun-hye on Monday congratulated three South Korean archers for winning the gold medal in the women’s team competition at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics on Sunday, saying the country's eighth consecutive win in the event is an "honorable record” that will go down in history.Park Hae-mook/The Korea Herald"The eight consecutive win that the women’s archery team, which stayed focused till the end, clinched is an honorable record that will go down in history," the chief executive said in

Aug. 8, 2016

Weightlifter Om Yun-chol wins silver for North Korea's 1st medal in Rio

Weightlifter Om Yun-chol won silver for North Korea's first medal at the ongoing Rio de Janeiro Olympics on Sunday.Om finished second in the men's 56kg at Riocentro-Pavilion 2, lifting 134 kg in the snatch and 169 kg in the clean and jerk for 303 kg total.Long Qingquan of China won the gold with a world record total of 307 kg, denying Om his second straight Olympic title. Long lifted 137 kg in the snatch and an Olympic record 170 kg in the clean and jerk.Park Hae-mook/The Korea HeraldOm is one o

Aug. 8, 2016

South Korea won't settle for draw vs. Mexico in football: coach

Despite blowing a late lead to end in a 3-3 draw with Germany in the Rio de Janeiro Olympic men's football competition on Sunday, South Korea can still clinch a quarterfinals berth with a draw against Mexico in the final group match.Head coach Shin Tae-yong said, however, he won't take anything less than a victory when his team faces Mexico on Wednesday in Brasilia."If we try to take a draw (in a tied game), we may end up losing with one minute remaining," he said at a press conference at Fonte

Aug. 8, 2016

South Korea ends in draw with Germany in men's football

South Korea were held to a 3-3 draw by Germany in men's football at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics on Sunday, blowing a chance to clinch a quarterfinals berth.Park Hae-mook/The Korea HeraldForward Suk Hyun-jun gave South Korea a 3-2 lead in the 86th minute at Fonte Nova Arena in Salvador, some 1,600 kilometers north of Rio, but Serge Gnabry scored the equalizer in added time to foil South Korea's bid for a knockout spot.South Korea remained atop Group C with four points. They won the first match ov

Aug. 8, 2016

South Korean Yoon Jin-hee wins bronze in women's weightlifting

South Korean weightlifter Yoon Jin-hee won bronze in the women's 53kg at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics on Sunday.Yoon lifted 88kg in snatch and 111kg in clean and jerk for a total of 199kg, finishing 1kg behind Hidilyn Diaz of the Philippines for the bronze.Hsu Shu-Ching of Chinese Taipei won the gold with 212kg total.Park Hae-mook/The Korea HeraldThis was Yoon's second career Olympic medal, after silver in 53kg at the 2008 Beijing Games.She came out of retirement in 2014 to make the national team

Aug. 8, 2016

South Korean An Ba-ul wins silver in judo

South Korean An Ba-ul won the silver medal in the men's -66kg judo at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics on Sunday.The world No. 1 An lost to the 26th-ranked Fabio Basile of Italy by ippon in the final at Carioca Arena 2.An had defeated his nemesis, Masashi Ebinuma, in the semifinals, his first victory over the Japanese in three meetings.With the gold at stake, however, An faltered in just 84 seconds.Park Hae-mook/The Korea HeraldSouth Korea has won two silver medals in two days of the judo competition

Aug. 8, 2016

Another golden moment in archery; veteran wins 2nd weightlifting medal

Another day at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, and another gold medal for South Korean archery.On Sunday, it was the women's team coming through with the title, a day after the men's team got the ball rolling with a gold.The trio of Chang Hye-jin, Choi Mi-sun and Ki Bo-bae beat the Russian team of Tuiana Dashidorzhieva, Inna Stepanova and Ksenia Perova in the final by the set score of 5-1 (59-49, 55-51, 51-51) at Sambodromo.Park Hae-mook/The Korea HeraldWith a set win worth two points and a draw wo

Aug. 8, 2016

3rd Olympic gold punctuates return to greatness for archer

In Korean, her name means "treasure."South Korean archer Ki Bo-bae has won her share of titles, but the team gold medal she captured at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics Sunday -- her third career Olympic gold -- may just be the crown jewel, a prize that punctuates her return to archery greatness.Ki made her first international splash in 2010 by winning the team gold medal at the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games. She then became the double gold medalist at the 2012 London Olympics, winning both the team and

Aug. 8, 2016

Park Tae-hwan knocked out in 200m freestyle heats

South Korean swimmer Park Tae-hwan was knocked out in the heats in the 200m freestyle at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics on Sunday.Park finished last among eight swimmers in the sixth and final heat at Olympic Aquatics Stadium in 1:48.06. Conor Dwyer of the United States won the heat in 1:45.95.Park Hae-mook/The Korea HeraldPark was 29th overall among 47 swimmers. The top 16 moved on to the semifinals, led by Sun Yang of China at 1:45.75.Park had won a silver in the 200m free at each of the past two

Aug. 8, 2016

Once aspiring president, South Korean judoka embraces 1st Olympic medal

South Korean judoka Jeong Bo-kyeong once dreamed of becoming a president, for no other reason than that she wanted to be different from her friends.Today, she may not be the president -- yet -- but she certainly is different from those around her.She can call herself an Olympic medalist.Park Hae-mook/The Korea Herald"Who knows, maybe this silver medal may help my presidential bid," Jeong quipped at a press conference for the Korean media at the Korea House, the main support center during the Rio

Aug. 8, 2016

Sabre fencer looking to defend gold

Of the 13 gold medals that South Korea grabbed at the 2012 London Olympics, the title by Kim Ji-yeon in women's individual sabre fencing just might have been the most surprising.Kim came out of nowhere to stun the reigning world champion, Sofiya Velikaya of Russia, in the final. And in Rio on Monday, Kim will be out to prove her victory wasn't a fluke. (Yonhap)In women's archery, Ki Bo-bae begins her own quest for a title defense in the individual event. No female archer has won back-to-back Oly

Aug. 8, 2016

20-something friends team up for 1st Olympic gold in archery

You don't always have to like your teammates to win in sports, but it wouldn't hurt to enjoy each other's company when you're competing for an Olympic medal.On the South Korean men's archery team, the affection that Kim Woo-jin, Ku Bon-chan and Lee Seung-yun feel for each other is genuine. And while they possess world-class skills, their teamwork played no small part in their winning the team gold medal at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics on Saturday.Park Hae-mook/The Korea HeraldThey're all around t

Aug. 7, 2016

South Korean coach behind Vietnam's 1st Olympic gold

Behind Vietnam's first-ever Olympic gold medal was a South Korean coach of the past two years.(Park Hae-mook/The Korea Herald)Hoang Xuan Vinh captured the men's 10m air pistol title at the Olympic Shooting Centre at the Rio de Janeiro Summer Games on Saturday, ending the country's six-decade drought.The 41-year-old military officer has been coached by South Korea's Park Chung-gun since the end of the 2014 Asian Games.Park told Yonhap News Agency that he often took his Vietnamese shooters to his

Aug. 7, 2016

Korean footballers not afraid of facing tall Germans

Korean Olympic footballers on Saturday said they are not afraid of Germany's height advantage that can present potential threats on set pieces.Korea will take on Germany at 4 p.m. Sunday in the second Group C match at the Rio de Janeiro Olympic football tournament at Fonte Nova Arena in Salvador, some 1,600 kilometers north of Rio.Korea are currently the leaders in the group after beating Fiji 8-0, while Germany played Mexico to a 2-2 draw. Park Hae-mook/The Korea HeraldGermany's strength in the

Aug. 7, 2016

First gold comes from men's archery; Judoka takes surprise silver

South Korea wasted little time picking up its first gold of the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, as the men's archery team came out on top on the first day of the competition Saturday.The trio of Kim Woo-jin, Ku Bon-chan and Lee Seung-yun defeated the United States team of Brady Ellison, Zach Garrett and Jake Kaminski by the set score of 6-0 at Sambodromo. It was South Korea's fifth Olympic gold in the men's team archery event and avenged its loss to the Americans in the semifinals at the 2012 London Ol

Aug. 7, 2016

Judoka Jeong Bo-kyeong wins silver for S. Korea's first medal in Rio

Judoka Jeong Bo-kyeong won silver for South Korea's first medal at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics on Saturday.Jeong lost to Paula Pareto of Argentina in the final of the women's -48kg at Carioca Arena 2 in Rio.Park Hae-mook/The Korea HeraldJeong's medal came after South Korean contenders in other sports fell by the wayside earlier Saturday. Shooter Jin Jong-oh finished fifth in the men's 10m air pistol, where he was the defending Olympic gold medalist. Swimmer Park Tae-hwan failed to qualify for th

Aug. 7, 2016

South Korean shooter Jin Jong-oh finishes 5th in 10m air pistol

South Korean shooter Jin Jong-oh finished a disappointing fifth in the men's 10m air pistol at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics on Saturday, coming up empty-handed in a bid for history.The defending Olympic champion was eliminated in the eight-man final after 14 out of a maximum 20 shots, with 139.8 points at Olympic Shooting Centre.Park Hae-mook/The Korea HeraldHe was trying to become the first man to win back-to-back gold medals in the 10m air pistol, and also the first South Korean athlete to win

Aug. 7, 2016

Korea looking to exploit Germans' weaknesses in football showdown

On the eve of his Olympic football showdown against Germany, South Korea coach Shin Tae-yong said Saturday the key will be to exploit the opponents' weaknesses.South Korea and Germany will clash at 4 p.m. Sunday in the second Group C match at the Rio de Janeiro Olympic football tournament at Fonte Nova Arena in Salvador, some 1,600 kilometers north of Rio.Park Hae-mook/The Korea HeraldAt the same venue on Thursday, South Korea pounded Fiji 8-0, while Germany played Mexico to a 2-2 draw.These res

Aug. 7, 2016