Stabbed with a sword... 'Avengers' Men's Sabre Team Fencing 3-Peat Victory [Paris Olympics]

Asia's First 3-Peat... Osanguk, Korea's First Fencing Double Gold Medalist

The South Korean men's sabre fencing team, known as the 'New Avengers (Avengers + Fencing),' made history by winning their third consecutive gold medal in the Olympic team event.

On the 31st (local time), the men's sabre team composed of Oh Sang-wook (Daejeon Metropolitan City Hall), Gu Bon-gil (Korea Sports Promotion Foundation), Park Sang-won (Daejeon Metropolitan City Hall), and Do Kyung-dong (Armed Forces Sports Unit) defeated the traditional powerhouse Hungary 45-41 in the final of the 2024 Paris Olympic team event held at the Grand Palais in Paris, France, to claim the championship.

The men's sabre national team is holding the Taegeukgi after winning the men's team sabre final against Hungary at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, held on the 31st (local time) at the Grand Palais in Paris, France.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

With this victory, the South Korean men's sabre team achieved a three-peat, following their wins at the 2012 London and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics held in 2021. The event was not held at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics due to event rotation. This is the first record of three consecutive Olympic team event gold medals by an Asian country.

Korean sabre, known as the 'Avengers' consisting of Kim Jung-hwan, Gu Bon-gil, Oh Sang-woo, and Kim Jun-ho, enjoyed their prime by sweeping team event medals at major competitions including the Tokyo Olympics. However, after winning gold at last year's Hangzhou Asian Games, Kim Jung-hwan and Kim Jun-ho were replaced by newcomers Park Sang-won and Do Kyung-dong.

'Ace' Oh Sang-wook won the individual event, delivering the first gold medal to the South Korean delegation, and then secured victory in the team event, becoming the first Korean athlete to win two gold medals at this Olympics. At the same time, he set a record as the first Korean fencer to win two gold medals at the Olympics.

Oh Sang-wook and Gu Bon-gil each earned their third Olympic gold medal in individual events.

Osangwook is cheering during the men's team sabre final against Hungary at the 2024 Paris Olympics fencing event held at the Grand Palais in Paris, France, on the 31st (local time).
[Image source=Yonhap News]

South Korea and Hungary engaged in a fierce battle in the final. In the first round, Park Sang-won took a slight lead with a 5-4 score, and in the third round, Gu Bon-gil extended the gap to 15-11, maintaining a narrow advantage early in the match, but Hungary closed in to within one point in the sixth round.

The team made a strategic move in the seventh round by substituting Gu Bon-gil with 'Joker' Do Kyung-dong. Making his Olympic debut at the Paris Games in the seventh round, Do Kyung-dong started at 30-29 and scored five consecutive points to pull away from Hungary.

Riding the momentum, Park Sang-won widened the gap to 40-33 in the eighth round.

In the final order, Oh Sang-wook, despite briefly allowing a comeback, secured the victory with a final score of 44-41.

Earlier, in the bronze medal match, France, who lost to South Korea in the semifinals, defeated Iran.

Meanwhile, including this men's sabre gold medal, South Korea has secured a total of 300 medals at the Summer Olympics.