Im Ae-ji
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.jpg) Im in August 2024 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | South Korea |
| Born | May 11, 1999 Hwasun, South Korea |
| Height | 1.66 m (5 ft 5 in) |
| Boxing career | |
| Weight class | Featherweight |
| Boxing record[1] | |
| Total fights | 30 |
| Wins | 17 |
| Win by KO | 0 |
| Losses | 13 |
| Draws | 0 |
| No contests | 0 |
Medal record | |
| Im Ae-ji | |
| Hangul | 임애지 |
|---|---|
| RR | Im Aeji |
| MR | Im Aeji |
Im Ae-ji (Korean: 임애지; born May 11, 1999) is a South Korean amateur boxer. In 2024, she became the first South Korean woman to win any Olympic medal in boxing.[2]
Im briefly competed as a track and field athlete when she was young and started her boxing career in her second year of middle school, although Im's parents objected her sports career transition. Since her school did not have a boxing club, she trained at the gym she went to, and eventually won in a local competition just one year after starting as a boxer.[3]
Im graduated from Hwasun Elementary School, Hwasun Middle School, Jeonnam Technical Science High School, and Korea National Sport University.[4]
Career
Im debuted on the world stage by winning the gold medal at the 2017 World Youth Women's Boxing Championships in Guwahati, becoming the first Korean female boxer to do so in a world competition.[3]
In 2018, she competed at the Asian Games in Jakarta in the women's featherweight division, but lost in the first round of the competition.[3]
Im qualified for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics by winning bronze medal in the women's featherweight division at the Asia and Oceania qualifiers in Amman in March,[5] but lost 1-4 in the quarter-finals against Australian boxer Skye Nicolson.[6]
In 2022, she competed at the Asian Games in Hangzhou in the women's bantamweight division but lost 0-5 against North Korean boxer Pang Chol-mi.[5]
In 2024, Im lost in the first world qualifier held in Busto Arsizio in March, and as soon as she came back to South Korea, Im went to the selection again and got a ticket to the second world qualifier held in Bangkok in June, with the goal of going to the Olympics.[3] In August, she took the bronze medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics after Im lost 2-3 in the semi-finals of women's bantamweight division against Turkish boxer Hatice Akbaş.[7] In December, she won the bronze medal at the 2024 World Boxing Cup Finals in Sheffield by beating Japanese boxer Mikoto Harada in the quarter-finals of the women's bantamweight division but lost 0-5 against Mongolian boxer Oyuntsetsegiin Yesügen in the semi-finals.[8]
In September 2025, Im secured the bronze medal at the World Boxing Championships in Liverpool after defeating Brazilian boxer Tatiana Chagas by decision in the women's 54kg class quarter-finals.[9]
Personal life
Im's family is a sports enthusiast. Her mother Lee Young-ae is a marathon runner and runs a marathon event company, while her younger sister Im Ha-jin is a cross-country runner for the Gyeonggi Provincial Office.[3]
She is a fan of the South Korean boy group Monsta X,[10] and enjoys listening to the group's songs while practicing.[3]