Kim Woo-jin (archer)
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South Korea Kim at the 2025 World Archery Championships | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Native name | 김우진 |
| National team | South Korea |
| Born | June 20, 1992 Okcheon, North Chungcheong, South Korea |
| Education | Juseong University, Chungbuk Physical Education High School, Iwon Middle School, Iwon Elementary School |
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)[1] |
| Weight | 198 lb (90 kg)[1] |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Archery |
| Club | Cheongju City |
Medal record | |
| Korean name | |
| Hangul | 김우진 |
| RR | Gim Ujin |
| MR | Kim Ujin |
Kim Woo-jin (Korean: 김우진; Korean pronunciation: [ki.mu.dʑin] or [kim] [u.dʑin]; born June 20, 1992) is a South Korean archer specializing in recurve archery. He first held the world number one ranking in 2011.[2][3] At the 2016 Summer Olympics, he set a world record in men's individual recurve archery as well as won the gold medal as a member of the South Korean men's archery team.[4] During the 2024 Summer Olympics, he earned an Olympic gold medal in the men's individual event after a tiebreaker with American archer Brady Ellison.[5] This victory marked Kim's fifth gold medal overall and his third consecutive Olympics in which he won a gold medal. He is also a three-time world champion in the men's individual recurve event at the World Archery Championships.[6]
His record of five Olympic gold medals is the most won by any archer in the world, surpassing the four won by Kim Soo-nyung.[7] It also makes him the most awarded Korean Olympian of all time in any sport.[7]
He is right-handed, and uses 30-inch (76 cm) arrows and a draw weight of 46 pounds (21 kg).[2]
Kim was part of the 2011 World Archery Championships gold medal-winning men's team and won the individual gold medal at the 2011 World Archery Championships and the 2012 FITA Archery World Cup. Despite this, he was not selected for the 2012 Korean Olympic team.[8]
In 2015, he was again selected for the Korean national team and became the first man since 1985 to win the World Archery Championships twice.[9]
During the Rio 2016 Summer Olympics, Kim set a world record during the individual men's qualifying round with a score of 700 out of a possible 720 (held under World Archery Federation rules at a distance of 70 meters).[10] The previous record of 699 was set by Im Dong-hyun (also of South Korea) at the 2012 Olympics,[10] and the record would stand until surpassed by Brady Ellison with a score of 702 at the 2019 World Archery Championships.[11] However, in a major upset, Kim lost 2–6 in the second round in the individual category to Indonesia's Riau Ega Agatha.[12] He was one of the three members of the South Korean men's team who won the Olympic gold medal in the team competition.[13]
At the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics, he earned a gold medal in the men's team event[14] and finished fifth in the men's individual event.[15]
During the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics, Kim earned an Olympic gold medal in the men's individual event after a tiebreaker with American archer Brady Ellison. This victory marked Kim's fifth gold medal overall and his third consecutive Olympics in which he won a gold medal. In addition, Kim secured a gold medal in the men's team archery event, making him one of only two athletes, along with Kim Soo-nyung, to achieve three consecutive team gold medals in archery at the Olympics. This made him South Korea's most successful Olympic athlete.[7][16][17] His gold completed South Korea's clean sweep of archery at that Olympics.[18]
Personal life
As of August 2021, Kim was planning to marry his girlfriend in December 2021.[19]
