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PARK Sangyoung
NOC Republic of Korea   
GenderMen
Born 16 Oct 1995 in Jinju, KOR
Height1.77 m
Human Interest
Sport Specific Information
Club / Team Ulsan Metropolitan City Hall: Seoul, KOR
General Interest
Awards and honours He participated as a torch bearer in the torch relay for the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang. (mydaily.co.kr, 29 Nov 2018)

He received the Excellent Athlete Award at the 2017 Korean Sports Awards in recognition of the gold medal he won in individual epee at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. (newsen.com, 22 Feb 2017)

He was named the 2016 Fencer of the Year by the Korean Fencing Federation. (view.asiae.co.kr, 21 Dec 2016)
Sport Specific Information
Name of coach Chang Tae-Suk [club], KOR; Ku Gyo-dong [national], KOR
When and where did you begin this sport? He began fencing in grade eight of middle school in Jinju, Republic of Korea.
Further Personal Information
Occupation Athlete
Languages Korean
General Interest
Injuries He underwent two knee operations after the 2016 Olympic Games. He then suffered an injury to his knee in the individual epee final at the 2018 Asian Games in Indonesia, where he claimed silver. His training was also disrupted ahead of the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo due to pain in his right knee. He went on to claim bronze in men's team epee at the Games. (SportsDeskOnline, 06 May 2021; Subusu Sports YouTube channel, 30 Jul 2019; news1.kr, 19 Aug 2018; sports.chosun.com, 31 Jul 2021; chosun.com, 11 Sep 2021)

He required surgery after damaging the cruciate ligament in his right knee at a competition in March 2015. He was sidelined for 11 months. (Subusu Sports YouTube channel, 16 Sep 2020; spotv.net, 25 Jun 2016)

He sustained an ankle injury at the 2013 World Junior Championships in Porec, Croatia. (ifeeltong.org, 26 Mar 2013)

He damaged the cartilage in his right knee when he was in the 11th grade at high school. (munhwa.com, 04 Nov 2014)
Sport Specific Information
Why this sport? The fencing coach at middle school encouraged him to get involved in the sport, and epee was the only event that he was able to take up. "My parents were very against it because they didn't understand why I was playing a sport that they had never seen. Since they were so against it, I once left home. As a young kid, I was just playing for fun and they didn't want to let me, so I got mad and, to persuade them, I wrote lists of why I had to fence."
General Interest
Most influential person in career Korean fencer Jung Jin-Sun, and his mother. (Subusu Sports YouTube channel, 30 Jul 2019; mydaily.co.kr, 29 Nov 2018; veritas-a.com, 21 Oct 2021)
Sport Specific Information
Handedness Right
General Interest
Nicknames Icon of Positivity [given to him after he defeated Geza Imre of Hungary 15-14 in the epee final at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, despite trailing 14-10 with less than three minutes remaining], Crazy Fencer [because he is only interested in fencing]. (SportsDeskOnline, 06 May 2021; chosun.com, 11 Sep 2021; Subusu Sports YouTube channel, 16 Sep 2020)
Sporting philosophy / motto "When I get stabbed, I kind of get angry." (koreajoongangdaily.joins.com, 21 May 2020)
Hobbies Playing video games. (chosun.com, 11 Sep 2021)
Ambitions To compete at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, and to become a coach after retiring from competition. (veritas-a.com, 21 Oct 2021; redbull.com, 29 Sep 2020; Subusu Sports YouTube channel, 16 Sep 2020)
Other information AUTOBIOGRAPHY
He has released an autobiography called 'Park Sangyoung: We Can Do It' about his life as a fencer and winning a gold medal at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. (bookapp.mk.co.kr, 05 Jan 2017)
Milestones He and his teammates Song Jae-Ho, Ma Se-Geon, and Kweon Young-Jun became the first team representing the Republic of Korea to win a medal in men's team epee at the Olympic Games when they claimed bronze at the 2020 Games in Tokyo. (donga.com, 30 Jul 2021; SportsDeskOnline, 07 Apr 2022)

He became the first Korean fencer to win a gold medal in individual epee at the Olympic Games when he claimed victory at the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro. (SportsDeskOnline, 06 May 2021; news.sbs.co.kr, 10 Aug 2016)
Memorable sporting achievement Winning gold in individual epee at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. (Subusu Sports YouTube channel, 29 Jul 2019)
Hero / Idol Soviet and Russian fencer Pavel Kolobkov. (Subusu Sports YouTube channel, 29 Jul 2019)

Major Results
Year Rank Event Venue
Olympic Games
2020 3 Team Epee Tokyo, Japan
2020 Quarterfinal Individual Epee Tokyo, Japan
2016 1 Individual Epee Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
2016 Final 5-6 Team Epee Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
World Championships
2022 7 Team Epee Cairo, Egypt
2018 2 Team Epee Wuxi, China
2018 5 Individual Epee Wuxi, China
2014 2 Team Epee Kazan, Russia
Asian Championships
2022 1 Team Epee Seoul, Republic of Korea
2022 3 Individual Epee Seoul, Republic of Korea
2019 2 Team Epee Tokyo, Japan
2018 4 Team Epee Bangkok, Thailand
2017 1 Team Epee Hong Kong, China
2016 2 Individual Epee Wuxi, China