Gold Medal Worthy in Sports Equipment Development... Now It's Cycling!

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Korean archery swept four gold medals at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. These were in the mixed team, men's and women's team, and women's individual events. The main players, An San (20, Gwangju Women's University), Kim Je-deok (17, Gyeongbuk Il High School), Kang Chae-young (25, Hyundai Mobis), and Jang Min-hee (22, Incheon University), achieved this feat using domestically produced bows. These were products of 'WIAWIS,' the representative brand of Win&Win. Win&Win is a company founded in 1993 by CEO Park Kyung-rae, who was active as a player and coach of the national archery team. Starting with the determination to compensate for the shortcomings of foreign bows, it has grown to hold the number one market share worldwide. Along with the American Eastern Group's Hoyt, it dominates the global recurve bow market. At this Olympics, 46 out of 128 archery athletes competed using Win&Win bows.

The secret to its high popularity lies in its outstanding performance. Arrows fly faster than with other brands' products and create precise shot groups. It is also easy to correct mistakes. The material is graphene, which has better functionality than aluminum. It is a new material that is light, strong, and highly elastic, applied in various industries. Win&Win initially produced bows using nano carbon with carbon nanotubes inserted. However, to improve durability and shock absorption, they replaced the core material with graphene.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Win&Win applied this technology to make bicycles starting in 2014. The frame is made light and strong like a bow, and 70-80% of domestic professional cyclists use it for competition. Lee Hye-jin (29, Busan Local Government Sports One), who is competing in the Olympic keirin and sprint events, also rides this bike in her medal hunt. She rose to number one in the women's keirin world rankings last year. The WIAWIS bicycle frame she switched to at the end of 2019 played a part in her performance improvement. It is the 'TXT-Pro (PRO)' incorporating graphene nano carbon technology.

Cycling races are decided in moments shorter than 0.01 seconds. Therefore, it is called a battleground for bicycle technology. Win&Win provided a customized frame reflecting Lee Hye-jin's detailed feedback. Riding a lighter and stronger cycle, Lee grew into a world-class athlete. In 2019, she won Korea's first women's keirin gold medal at the Hong Kong Track World Cup and won again a week later at the New Zealand Track World Cup. In March last year, she earned a silver medal in women's keirin at the World Track Cycling Championships held in Germany, signaling a strong Olympic performance.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Now is the time to showcase both the strength of Korean cycling and the excellence of domestic sports equipment. Lee Hye-jin will start her Olympic races with the first round of the women's keirin at the velodrome in Izu, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan, on the 4th. She will race eight laps on a 250m track at a top speed of 70-80 km/h. Lee said, "My goal is to win a medal," showing her firm determination. "There is no next Olympics."

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