Kim Hyeon-woo (, ; born November 6, 1988, in

Wonju Wonju (; ) is the most populous Administrative divisions of South Korea, city in Gangwon Province, South Korea, with a population of 364,860 as of 2023. The city is located approximately east of Seoul. History During the time of Joseon, Gr ...

, Gangwon Province) is a male wrestler from

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

. In the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

, Kim won the gold medal in the 66 kg

Greco-Roman wrestling Greco-Roman (American English), Graeco-Roman (British English), or classic wrestling (Euro-English) is a style of wrestling that is practiced worldwide. Greco-Roman wrestling was included in the first modern Olympic Games in 1896 and has been i ...

final.

Biography

Kim began to train

judo is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, combat sport, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyc ...

at the age of 9. However he converted his sport into wrestling in 2001. Kim first drew international attention in 2006 when he won the silver medal at the World Junior Wrestling Championships and the gold medal at the Asian Junior Wrestling Championships. Kim became a member of the South Korean senior national team in 2010 when he won the gold medal at the

Asian Wrestling Championships Asian Wrestling Championships is the Wrestling Asian Championship organized by the Asian Associated Wrestling Committee (AAWC). The men's tournament began in 1979 and The women's tournament was first staged in 1996, and it has been held every year ...

. At the

2011 World Wrestling Championships The 2011 World Wrestling Championships was held at the Sinan Erdem Dome in Istanbul, Turkey. The event took place between September 12 and September 18, 2011. Medal table Team ranking Medal summary Men's freestyle Men's Greco-Roman Wome ...

, Kim won bronze for his first medal at a major competition. In the quarterfinal bout, he beat 2008 Olympic silver medalist

Vitaliy Rahimov Vitaliy Medzhidovich Rahimov ( born 27 August 1984, Meghri, Armenian SSR) is an Azerbaijani athlete. Rahimov moved with his family to Azerbaijan in 1990. He has been trained in Greco-Roman wrestling since 1994. He made the Azerbaijani ...

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

2–0. In December 2011, Kim won the gold medal in the men's Greco-Roman 66 kg at the Pre-London Olympics Test Event. At the

2012 Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

, Kim edged out defending Olympic champion Steeve Guenot of

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

2–1 in the semifinals. In the final, Kim beat

Tamás Lőrincz Tamás Lőrincz (born 20 December 1986) is a Hungarian Wrestling, wrestler. He won the silver medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics in the Greco-Roman 66 kg event and a gold medal in the Wrestling at the 2020 Summer Olympics – Men's Greco-Ro ...

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

with 2-0 (1:0, 2:0) to give South Korea its first wrestling gold of the London Games. At the 2016 Summer Olympics, Kim was defeated by Roman Vlasov of Russia in the round of 16 in the 75 kg division. He then defeated Yang Bin of

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

during the repechages and

Božo Starčević Božo Starčević (born 11 December 1988 in Zagreb) is a male Greco-Roman wrestler from Croatia. His best achievement is the bronze medal at the 2013 European Wrestling Championships – Men's Greco-Roman 74 kg in Tbilisi, Georgia. Early life ...

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

to win the bronze medal. He was the flag bearer for South Korea during the closing ceremony. He competed in the 77kg event at the

2022 World Wrestling Championships The 2022 World Wrestling Championships was the 17th edition of the World Wrestling Championships of combined events and was held between 10 and 18 September 2022 in Belgrade, Serbia. The UWW Bureau approved the candidature of Belgrade, Serbia as ...

held in Belgrade, Serbia.

References

External links

* * *
Hyeonwoo Kim
at

BBC Sport BBC Sport is the sports division of the BBC, providing national sports coverage for BBC BBC Television, television, BBC Radio, radio and BBC Online, online. The BBC holds the television and radio UK broadcasting rights to several sports, broadc ...

(archived)
Kim Hyeonwoo
at

NBC Olympics ''NBC Olympics'' is the commercial name for the NBC Sports-produced broadcasts of the Summer and Winter Olympic Games as shown in the United States on NBCUniversal platforms. They include the NBC broadcast network and many of the company's cabl ...

(archived) * 1988 births Living people Olympic gold medalists for South Korea Olympic bronze medalists for South Korea Olympic wrestlers for South Korea Olympic medalists in wrestling Wrestlers at the 2012 Summer Olympics Wrestlers at the 2016 Summer Olympics Wrestlers at the 2010 Asian Games Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Wrestlers at the 2014 Asian Games Wrestlers at the 2018 Asian Games Wrestlers at the 2022 Asian Games Medalists at the 2014 Asian Games Medalists at the 2018 Asian Games Asian Games medalists in wrestling World Wrestling Championships medalists South Korean male sport wrestlers Asian Games gold medalists for South Korea Asian Games bronze medalists for South Korea South Korean Buddhists Sportspeople from Wonju Martial artists from Gangwon Province, South Korea 21st-century South Korean sportsmen {{SouthKorea-wrestling-bio-stub