By Kim Minji

The national women's archery team has won its ninth consecutive Olympic gold medal at the Tokyo Summer Olympics.

Kang Chae-young (Hyundai Mobis), Jang Min-hee (Incheon National University) and An San (Kwangju Women's University) on July 25 beat the Russian Olympic Committee, 6-0, in the final at Yumenoshima Park Archery Field in Tokyo.

Korea has won every team gold since the event debuted at the 1988 Seoul Summer Olympics.

Korea is the third country to win the same event nine times in a row. Kenya won nine consecutive golds from 1984 to 2016 in the men's 3,000-m steeplechase and the U.S. claimed the 4x100m medley relay in men's swimming over the same period.

The Korean women showed its traditional prowess as a global archery power in these Tokyo Games. In the ranking round on July 23, An, Jang and Kang ranked first, second and third in that order. Korea also won its quarterfinal versus Italy, 6-0, and its semifinal against Belarus, 5-1.

An and Kim Je-deok of the men on July 24 also won the gold in the mixed team event.

Korea has dominated Olympic archery for over 30 years because of the vast number of talented archers competing for a spot on the national team and the structure of the selection process for the squad.

On why Korea is so dominant in archery, Jerry Lee, planning director of the Korea Archery Association, on July 26 told the Korean cable news channel YTN, "We have many top-class players and our competition system is well established."

President Moon Jae-in also congratulated the women's historic win on Facebook, saying they did a great job and that he is proud of them.

He called winning every gold in the event "a mood-raising, splendid achievement" and that Korea is very good at archery. The team also showed overwhelming skill in the face of strong winds, he added.

kimmj7725@korea.kr