Youngest Kim Je-deok Challenging 'Archery Triple Crown' "Goal is 3 Golds... Results Will Reflect Effort"

Korean male national archery team member Kim Je-deok. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyun-joo] Kim Je-deok (17, Gyeongbuk Ilgo), the youngest member of South Korea's men's archery team who ranked first in the men's ranking round in his Olympic debut, expressed his bold ambition, saying, "I will win all three gold medals."

On the 23rd, at the Tokyo Yumenoshima Park Archery Field, Kim Je-deok scored a total of 688 points from 72 arrows in the Tokyo Olympic men's individual preliminary ranking round, securing first place and earning a spot in the mixed team event.

After the match, Kim Je-deok said at the official press conference, "Among the three events I am participating in, the men's team event is the one I desire the most," adding, "I will do my best to achieve the best results in the mixed team event held tomorrow."

The South Korean team decided to grant qualification for the mixed team event held on the 24th to the top-ranked male and female archers from the ranking round. Thus, Kim Je-deok will challenge for the first-ever Olympic archery triple crown (individual, team, mixed) alongside the youngest female representative An San (20, Gwangju Women's University), who ranked first in the women's event held that morning.

Kim Je-deok said, "An San and I do not have much international competition experience, but we have trained consistently in the athletes' village," adding, "I believe that the results come from the effort put in. I will approach the competition with confidence."

Kim Je-deok cited the 'Jincheon Athletes' Village special training' as the reason for his good performance in his Olympic debut. He commented, "Training in a very similar environment was a great help," and "I was satisfied because I was familiar with the color scheme of the venue."

The Korea Archery Association prepared a 'model set' identical to the Yumenoshima Archery Field for special training while preparing for the Tokyo Olympics.

Meanwhile, the mixed team event featuring South Korea's youngest archers Kim Je-deok and An San will take place at 9:30 a.m. on the 24th.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.