"I Couldn't Help Shooting"… Kim Je-deok Scores 10 Points with a Bee on His Hand [Paris Olympics]

Korea Archery, Men's Team Gold Medal
"I held on and shot until the end because I didn't want to cause harm"

At the 2024 Paris Olympics, the South Korean men's archery team won the gold medal, and the youngest member, Kim Je-deok (Yecheon County Office), became a hot topic for showing unwavering concentration even when a bee landed on the back of his hand.

On the 30th (Korean time), the men's team consisting of Kim Woo-jin (Cheongju City Office), Lee Woo-seok (Kolon), and Kim Je-deok won the men's team final at the 2024 Paris Olympic archery event held at Les Invalides in Paris, France, defeating France 5-1 (57-57 59-58 59-56) to claim the championship. With this victory, South Korea's men's archery team achieved a three-peat in the Olympic team event.

Earlier that day, South Korea crushed Japan 6-0 in the quarterfinals by set score. However, the semifinal against China was a somewhat close contest before securing the win.

In the men's team archery semifinal between Korea and China, a bee is perched on the right hand of Kim Je-deok just before his last shot of the third set.
[Image source=SBS broadcast screen]

In the first set against China, South Korea and China tied at 54-54, sharing one point each. Soon after, South Korea earned 2 points by winning the second set 57-54. In the third set, with two arrows remaining, South Korea was trailing 36-53. They needed to score 18 points with the remaining two arrows to advance to the final.

At that moment, as Kim Je-deok was preparing to shoot, a bee flew over and landed on the back of his right hand holding the bowstring. The bee even flew between his aiming points. This scene was captured live on the TV broadcast.

Despite the bee's interference, Kim Je-deok remained unshaken. His heart rate at the time was in the 80 bpm range, which is typical for a healthy adult at rest, indicating he maintained a calm and steady state during the match. Although his aiming time was longer than usual, Kim Je-deok calmly completed his aim and released the arrow, which hit the 10-point target precisely. Following this, Kim Woo-jin also scored 10 points, securing South Korea's victory over China and confirming their place in the final.

On the 29th (local time), at the Les Invalides Archery Stadium in Paris, France, the men's team final match between Korea and France took place at the 2024 Paris Olympic Archery event. Before the match started, Kim Woo-jin, Lee Woo-seok, and Kim Je-deok were cheering.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

In a post-match interview, Kim Je-deok recalled, "As I was about to step onto the shooting line, there was a bee. I tried to shoo it away and took my position, but the bee followed me." He added, "I kept thinking, 'It's the Olympics,' and I felt I couldn't lower my arm or miss the shot. I really wanted to catch it somehow and shoot a 10." He continued, "The atmosphere could have changed depending on that one shot. I didn't want to cause any harm, so I held on and shot until the end. I also felt like I could score a 10. The 10 I shot with confidence seemed to bring out a good feeling for me."

Netizens who saw Kim Je-deok's performance responded with comments such as, "I was amazed by his incredible concentration," "I'm proud that he is our country's athlete," "It was impressive how calmly he handled the situation despite being a young player," "I wonder how much effort it took to shoot well despite the bee's interference," and "Watching the match made me so nervous that my hands were sweaty."

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