South Korean teen archer Kim Je-deok, sole caregiver of ill father, wins 2 gold medals

South Korean teen archer Kim Je-deok took home two gold medals at the 2020 Tokyo Games and was motivated to win for his ill father.

The details: Kim, 17, won his first gold in the Olympic archery mixed-team with partner An San on Saturday and proceeded to take his second in the men’s team event on Monday, according to Reuters.

South Korea’s men’s team, which consisted of Kim, Oh Jinhyek and Kim Woojin, won 6-0 against Taiwan in the grand finals.
“Before going into the games, I said to myself, let’s not think about medals,” Kim told reporters. “Once you get greedy about medals, you have a lot of thoughts in your head, and that will make your body tense.”
Kim’s shot for a third gold medal at the Tokyo Games fell short in the individual category when he lost to Germany’s Florian Unruh 7-3 in round 32, Korea Times reported.
The men’s team won six medals in Olympic events, including the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio.
Kim became South Korea’s youngest gold medalist. He rose to fame after appearing on a South Korean television talent show in 2016.

Backstory: Speaking at the CBS radio show “Kim Hyun Jung’s News Show,” Hwang Hyo Jin, the teen archer’s coach, revealed some details about his family situation, AllKpop reported.

Hwang said it made her sad when Kim shouted “fighting” before the tournament, explaining, “He shouted ‘Fighting’ aloud so that he would calm his nerves.”
However, Kim’s battle cry proved to be helpful among his teammates, as An San told reporters that it helped her calm her nerves, according to Korea Herald.
“He doesn’t have a mother and has to take care of his ill father by himself. So I tried to help him as much as I can,” Hwang said, adding the teenager had to do well due to his situation.

Featured Image via World Archery

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