Storm 5 Points in 28 Seconds… 'New Appangers' Win Gold in Fencing Powerhouse
Oh Sang-uk, who won three consecutive championships in the men's sabre team event, becomes the first Korean fencing double champion.
Do Kyung-dong, who was trailing Hungary by one point in the 7th round, scored five points to seize the opportunity to win, setting a new record for three consecutive championships in 64 years.
The secret to teamwork is communication between seniors and juniors.
Park Sang-won, "I will continue the original Appenzeller." 안전놀이터
The 'Korea Appensors' (a portmanteau of fencing and Avengers), which has perfectly succeeded in generational change, has made history by winning three consecutive Olympic team events in the heart of France, the fencing powerhouse.
Korea is the only country to have won three consecutive Olympic fencing team events in the 21st century.
On the 1st, the final of the men's sabre team event at the 2024 Paris Olympics was held at the Grand Palais in Paris, France.
The Korean fencers, consisting of Oh Sang-uk (28), Gu Bon-gil (35), Do Kyung-dong (25), and Park Sang-won (24), defeated Hungary 45-41 and took the gold medal.
With this, Korea has completed the great record of winning three consecutive competitions (the 2016 Rio de Janeiro competition was not held due to event rotation) following the 2012 London Olympics and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics .
It is the first time in 64 years since Hungary won seven consecutive titles from the 1928 Amsterdam Games to the 1960 Rome Games that a three-peat has occurred in this event. It is also the first time since 2000.
Sang-uk Oh, who came out as the last runner and put an end to the competition, won both the individual and team events, achieving the first ever Olympic double gold medal in Korean fencing history.
In response to Do Kyung-dong’s words that it was “the era of Sang-uk Oh,” he said, “We are not living in the era of Sang-uk Oh, but the era of the Appenzellers,” and gave glory to the team rather than the individual.
The power of New Avengers is 'communication'
The Korean men's sabre enjoyed its heyday with the Appenders, consisting of Kim Jung-hwan (41), Koo Bon-gil, Kim Jun-ho (30), and Oh Sang-uk.
With these players having won gold medals at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, three World Championships, and two Asian Games, Korea was able to maintain the world rankings for eight consecutive years from the 2016-2017 season to the 2023-2024 season.
However, changes were inevitable for the Appenders.
After Kim Jung-hwan and Kim Jun-ho left the national team due to injury and retirement, respectively, after the Hangzhou Asian Games last year, a new national team was formed with rookies Park Sang-won and Do Kyung-dong.
They experienced some twists and turns, such as not even winning a medal at the Madrid World Cup last May, but they completely washed away their concerns by reaching the top at this competition.
The secret to the national team, which had not even been in sync for a year, being able to improve teamwork in a short period of time was communication.
Existing members and seniors, Koo Bon-gil and Oh Sang-uk, approached Park Sang-won and Do Kyung-dong first through conversation.
They said they emphasized that “we are not seniors and juniors, but equal players.”
Oh Sang-uk said, “Since it is important to have a certain mindset when exercising in a team event, we improved the quality of our exercise by having many conversations.”