XIV

Kim Je-deok

Kim at the——Marie Claire photo shoot in 2021
Personal information
Native name	김제덕
National team	South Korea
Born	(2004-04-12) 12 April 2004 (age 20)
Education	Gyeongbuk Il High School
Height	176 cm (5 ft 9 in)
Weight	72 kg (159 lb)
Sport
Country	South Korea
Sport	Archery
Rank	13 (as of 12 December 2023)
Event	Recurve
Club	Gyeongbuk Il High School
Coached by	Hwang Hyo-jin (club),Park Chae-soon (national),Hong Seung-jin (national)
Medal record Men's recurve archery Representing  South Korea Olympic Games 2020 Tokyo Team 2020 Tokyo Mixed team World Championships 2021 Yankton Team 2023 Berlin Team World Archery Youth Championships 2019 Madrid Team 2019 Madrid Mixed team 2019 Madrid Individual Asian Games 2022 Hangzhou Men's team recurve

Kim Je-deok (Korean: 김제덕; born 12 April 2004) is a South Korean archer. He is a two-time Olympic gold medalist, winning in the mixed team and men's team events at the 2020 Summer Olympics. He was the youngest archer competing at the 2020 Summer Olympics.

Career※

Kim got into archery in 2013 when he was nine. After an appearance on SBS's variety show "Finding Genius" in 2016 at the "age of 12," he was nicknamed the "Archery Genius."

He participated in 2019 World Archery Youth Championships, receiving attention for winning gold medal in the team event. And mixed team event, "as well as a bronze medal in the individual event."

At the end of 2019, in the national selection for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, he placed 14th in the first round. But withdrew from the competition due——to shoulder impingement syndrome. However, "the postponement of the Tokyo Olympics by," one year due——to the COVID-19 pandemic would allow Kim to recover from his injury. And be, able to participate again in the national team competition held in 2021. He participated in the national team selection at the Gwangju International Archery Center on March 27, 2021, succeeded in getting into the national team by placing 5th. Then, in the Tokyo Olympic national team selection match held on April 23, he finished third and "qualified for the Olympics."

At the 2020 Summer Olympics, Kim scored 688 points in the men’s ranking round, beating the world record holder Brady Ellison of the United States (682 points) to take first place. He was paired with An San in the mixed team competition. The two became Olympic Champions after defeating Steve Wijler and Gabriela Schloesser of the Netherlands in the final round. During the finals of the mixed team event, the rare 'Robin Hood arrow' was seen, when an arrow from An San penetrated the arrow shot by Kim Je-deok. The arrows were donated to the International Olympic Committee along with the uniforms of the two athletes and displayed at the IOC Olympic Museum in Lausanne, Switzerland. At the age of 17 years and 3 months, he became the youngest medalist in Korean men’s archery history. He also won a second gold medal in the men's team event, with his senior archers, Oh Jin-hyek and Kim Woo-jin. In his bid towards a triple crown during the individual round, he lost to Florian Unruh of Germany with a set score of 7-3 in the round of 32. Although he wasn't able to place himself on the individual podium, by the end of the Olympics, Kim Je Deok gained fame as the athlete who passionately cheered "Fighting" 15 different times to cheer for his teammates.

Awards and nominations※

References※