In London, Ki Bo-bae claims second archery gold

South Korean Ki Bo-bae won the Olympic gold medal in women’s individual archery on Thursday, August 2 (local time), at the 2012 Summer Olympic Games. This was the second gold medal for the 24-year-old Ki on top of the team title she helped win last Friday.

Ki started off strong, leading Mexico’s Aida Roman 27 to 25 in the first set, but the second saw a tie between the two players, and Roman secured the third.

After scoring three consecutive maximums in the fourth set, Ki appeared on her way to victory, but a decisive gain by Roman in the final set forced both women into a sudden-death shoot-off.

Ki went first, but missed the ten-point center circle to score eight points. Roman also shot an eight, but as her arrow veered further left, the victory went to Ki.

Roman’s impressive performance was followed by a bronze medal win by teammate Marian Avitia, and the duo successfully earned Mexico its first ever medals in Olympic archery.

Korean archer Ki Bo-bae (center), who won her second gold medal in women's individual archery on August 2, celebrates with fellow Olympians Aida Roman (left) and Marian Avitia (right), both of the Mexican team. The fact that Roman and Avitia earned their medals with the support of their team's South Korean-born head coach Lee Woong made this shared moment especially meaningful (photo: Yonhap News).

The fact that Roman and Avitia had secured their wins under the supportive eye of South Korean-born head coach Lee Woong made the moment on the podium, under the flags of Mexico and South Korea, especially meaningful.

Ki’s gold is Korea’s third medal in archery at the 2012 London Olympics, and the seventh women’s individual gold for Korea since the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.

By Kwon Jungyun
Korea.net Staff Writer