Lim Si-Hyeon: “Concerns about the women’s national team’s ‘lack of experience’ were accepted as support”

by times news cr

A seat with Professor Jin-ho Kim, the ‘original Shin-gung’
Kim, 1979, the beginning of the ‘Korean Archery Myth’
“When I saw him in the first year of high school, I felt like he was a natural, and he seemed to have a liberated mentality… I also respected him.”
Lim “I will challenge myself and work hard without regrets”

Olympic triple crown winner who passed through the ‘eye of the needle’
Im Si-hyeon (left), who won three gold medals in archery at the Paris Olympics, poses for the ‘needle hole ceremony’ with Professor Kim Jin-ho, the ‘original archer.’ Im Si-hyeon did this ceremony after winning three gold medals at the Paris Olympics, meaning that ‘winning three gold medals is as difficult as passing through the eye of a needle.’ Reporter Lee Heon-jae [email protected]

“I first saw (Im) Si-hyeon when she was a freshman in high school. I could tell at a glance that she had good potential.” (Professor Kim Jin-ho of Korea National Sport University)

“It was a time when I had nothing to show for myself, but I am grateful that you saw my potential as high. Thanks to the professor’s teachings, I was able to stand where I am today.” (Im Si-hyeon)

Professor Kim Jin-ho (63), the ‘original archer’ of Korean archery, and Im Si-hyeon (21, 3rd year, Korea National Sport University) the ‘new archer’ stood together after the Paris Olympics. The teacher and student attended the ‘Paris Olympic Medalist Press Conference’ held at Korea National Sport University in Songpa-gu, Seoul on the 14th.

Professor Kim is a pioneer among Korean archers who first stood out in international competitions. He opened the curtain on the ‘Korean Archery Myth’ by winning five gold medals at the 30th World Championships held in Berlin, Germany in 1979. He won a bronze medal at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics despite making the mistake of shooting zero points twice. However, Professor Kim did not have an Olympic gold medal. He ended his career after winning three gold medals at the 1986 Seoul Asian Games. The Olympic archery team event was introduced at the 1988 Seoul Games, two years after Professor Kim retired.

Professor Kim achieved his dream of an Olympic gold medal for the first time in 40 years through his student Im Si-hyeon. Im Si-hyeon won three gold medals, winning the team, mixed, and individual events at the Paris Olympics, which ended on the 12th. He also set a world record (694 points) in the ranking round.

Lim Si-hyeon said, “The women’s team gold medal, which achieved 10 consecutive Olympic gold medals, was the most meaningful. I personally felt that it is really difficult and heavy to go into a game and say that you will get results as an athlete,” and “The joy I felt when I overcame the burden and won the gold medal with Jeon Hun-young (30) and Nam Su-hyeon (19) was tremendous.”

Lim Si-hyeon also spoke calmly about concerns about the lack of international competition experience among the three women’s archery team members who participated in the Paris Olympics. “I knew there were concerns about the women’s team ahead of the competition. However, as someone who saw my teammates up close, I wasn’t worried at all,” he said. “It was a bit difficult at first, but I accepted the concerns as encouragement and worked harder.”

Lim Si-hyeon, who won three gold medals at the Hangzhou Asian Games and the Paris Olympics last year, showed his determination to continue to challenge himself in the future. Lim Si-hyeon said, “I really like the way I challenge myself. I don’t know what the results will be in the future, but I want to do my best at every moment and continue the rest of my career as an athlete without regrets.”

Professor Kim said, “(Im) Si-hyeon is a good archer, but he is also a child with a lot of human charm. Even at a young age, he has a mentality that seems liberated. Sometimes, I respect him,” and “He has open ears and absorbs helpful words like a sponge. He will remain a good player for a long time.”

Lim Si-hyeon, who is continuing the lineage of Korean archery, was a college student in his 20s who couldn’t hold back laughter when he heard the story of tteokbokki. He said with a laugh, “I wanted to eat spicy tteokbokki first thing when I came back to Korea, but I haven’t had time yet.”

Professor Jang Gap-seok (65), who was the head coach of the shooting team at the Paris Olympics, shared a behind-the-scenes story about Yang Ji-in (21), who won the gold medal in the women’s 25m shooting event. Professor Jang said, “There was an accidental discharge during practice two days before the competition. The fragments of the live bullet shot by Ji-in hit the stomach of the Ecuadorian athlete behind her.” He continued, “It wasn’t a serious injury, but the competitors, Germany, France, and Hungary, protested strongly. However, the Ecuadorian team sided with us, saying, ‘There’s no problem.’ Ji-in won the gold medal despite all that.” Yang Ji-in entered Korea National Sport University in the same year as Im Si-hyeon, class of ’22.


Reporter Lee Heon-jae [email protected]

Hot news right now

2024-08-15 03:12:12

You may also like

Leave a Comment