(Olympics) Bum shoulder or not, veteran archer picks up 2nd career Olympic gold

July 26, 2021

- It was almost nine years ago to date that South Korean archer Oh Jin-hyek won his first Olympic gold medal in London, in the men’s individual event.

His career then went through some usual ebbs and flows, and it didn’t come as a huge surprise that Oh didn’t make the Olympic team in 2016. With a rich reserve of archery talent in the country making Olympic trials, few qualify for back-to-back Olympics.

Oh Jin-hyek of South Korea celebrates his gold medal in the men's archery team event at the Tokyo Olympics at Yumenoshima Park Archery Field in Tokyo on July 26, 2021. (Yonhap)
From left to right: South Korean archery head coach Hong Seung-jin, archers Oh Jin-hyek, Kim Woo-jin and Kim Je-deok pose with the national flag, Taegeukgi, after winning the men's team gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics at Yumenoshima Park Archery Field in Tokyo on July 26, 2021. (Yonhap)
South Korean archers Oh Jin-hyek, Kim Je-deok and Kim Woo-jin (R to L) sign a commemorative target after winning the men's team gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics at Yumenoshima Park Archery Field in Tokyo on July 26, 2021. (Yonhap)
South Korean archers Kim Je-deok, Kim Woo-jin and Oh Jin-hyek (L to R) bump fists after winning the gold medal in the men's team event at the Tokyo Olympics at Yumenoshima Park Archery Field in Tokyo on July 26, 2021. (Yonhap)

Oh Jin-hyek of South Korea celebrates his gold medal in the men’s archery team event at the Tokyo Olympics at Yumenoshima Park Archery Field in Tokyo on July 26, 2021. (Yonhap)

But then Oh did something even more unthinkable: he returned to the Olympics in Tokyo. And because the Tokyo Olympics got pushed by one year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a nine-year gap, instead of eight, between Oh’s Olympic appearances.

Less than a month shy of his 40th birthday, Oh collected his second career gold in the men’s team event Monday, helping South Korea beat Chinese Taipei in a dominant performance. He’s now the oldest male archery champion in Olympic history.

It wasn’t just Father Time Oh battled. He has been dealing with right shoulder issues for years. He competed through pain during that 2012 Olympic gold medal run, and problems have worsened over the past four years. Of the four muscles that make up the rotator cuff, three of them were torn. The other was barely hanging by a thread.

But if Oh was hurting on Monday, he clearly didn’t look like an injured athlete. In the final, Oh hit the 10 with five of his six arrows.

Needing only a 9 to clinch the win with his final shot, Kim hit the center of the target anyway to set off a celebration.

Oh said he will always cherish the team gold medal more than his individual title from 2012.

“We’ve gone through so much together,” Oh said. “And to be able to win the gold as a team makes it that much better.”

Oh said he’s been dealing with the shoulder injury for so long that pain has become a part of his existence.

“It’s hurting more than you may think, but it’s not to a point where I can’t compete,” Oh said. “I am grateful that I am still able to shoot arrows with this shoulder.”

With South Korea having swept all four gold medals at stake in Rio, Oh said there was a great deal of pressure on this year’s team to duplicate the feat. Having the Tokyo Games delayed by a year due to the coronavirus pandemic was a blessing in disguise, Oh said.

“We had an extra year to develop our chemistry,” Oh said. “And we all came out of intense Olympic trials, and that experience made us better.”

Oh is 23 years older than the youngest archer on the team, Kim Je-deok, and 11 years Kim Woo-jin’s senior. But Oh said he doesn’t feel that old because he’s constantly around younger teammates

“I always try to make it easy on them to talk to me, and I always have fun with these guys,” Oh said. “When you’re comfortable with one another away from the field, then you’re able to perform better and just do your things on the field.”

Before this year, only four South Korean men had won two gold medals in their Olympic careers. On Monday alone, Oh and his two teammates, Kim Je-deok and Kim Woo-jin, joined that list.

Kim Je-deok won the mixed team title Saturday. Kim Woo-jin had the 2016 team gold medal to his credit.