South Korea stormed to gold in the men's archery. GETTY IMAGES

South Korea achieved a remarkable victory in men's team archery at the Paris Olympics on Monday, clinching the gold medal with a decisive 5-1 win over the host nation, France. 

This triumph solidifies South Korea's dominant position in the sport of archery, as South Korean men have now secured seven of the ten gold medals available since the event was first introduced at the Seoul Olympics in 1988.

The success of the South Korean archers is further underscored by their women's team, which triumphed on Sunday, earning their 10th consecutive gold medal. 

This impressive feat came after a thrilling shoot-off against China, demonstrating both skill and resilience under pressure. Favourites, top seeds and defending champions, Kim Woojin, Kim Je Deok and Lee Woo Seok raised their level again and again. It culminated in three exceptional sets of 57, 59 and 59 points and another Olympic gold.

South Korea defeated France in the men's archery final. GETTY IMAGES
South Korea defeated France in the men's archery final. GETTY IMAGES

“I believe that it’s very much an honour (to be the first man to win three team golds)," Woojin said. "It’s been three times for us at consecutive times, and it’s very much an honour. I still have some more games to go so I will do my best.

“While we were facing the French team, I think that there was a lot of cheers from the audience. That was the biggest challenge bucket and even for myself. It wasn’t really the temperature actually hindered my focus. I really enjoyed the finals.

“I think that some of my first initial goals are already met, because those were my initial targets. And now I have my individual left, but it’s usually the bigger goals, I think that usually you make more mistakes. So I will try to relieve my head of all of those goals, and try to just focus with my heart.”



In the final standings, France earned the silver medal for their efforts, while Turkiye rounded out the podium by taking home the bronze. The French archery team, cheered on by a lively and enthusiastic crowd at Esplanade des Invalides, initially matched South Korea in the first set, with both teams scoring evenly and securing one set point each.

However, South Korea's established prowess in archery soon became apparent. In the third set, the South Korean men demonstrated their precision by hitting the bullseye with all but one of their arrows, showcasing their superior skill and accuracy.

The clash between the host nation and the defending gold medalists generated tremendous excitement, with fans fervently waving both French and South Korean flags in support of their respective teams.

Earlier in the day, Turkiye made a historic achievement by winning their first-ever medal in the competition. They secured the bronze medal by defeating China with a score of 6-2 in the bronze medal match.



“We are very happy and very proud," defending individual Olympic Champion, Mete Gazoz said. "We’re standing here three archers today, but actually we represent all of the Turkish archery federation and the team behind us working all hard for this achievement that made history. This morning I was immortal Mete, now I am relaxed Mete.”

Games debutants Berkim Tumer said, “We did it. This was not a surprise for us. We trained too much for this medal. And we did it.” Teammate Abdullah Yildirmis, added, “We did make history, and we will work hard and we will continue to do more. We worked very very hard for this, train very hard and definitely didn’t come as a surprise.”